The Army Sucks
by Short Moose
Summary: Even when you volunteer, the army still sucks.
1. Chapter 1

_Sixteen..._

_Seventeen..._

_Eighteen..._

_Nineteen..._

_Twenty._ I stopped. Every morning at 8 am, when I get the chance, I do twenty routine push ups. Even if I get out of a forty hour shift at 7:59 am and I'm tired as hell; twenty push ups. Then, if I don't have to operate again, I write to my grandfather. I love him so much. He's like a dad to me. Keeping to schedule; I got up from the ground within my tent and grabbed a pen, a pad of paper, and my ipod, and headed to the mess tent where I normally go to write. I set my stuff down at an empty table, then went and grabbed a cup of orange juice. I sat back down, and prepared to write. 'Dear H-'

"Hey, Cal!" Oh, no. It's my best friend: Greg Stacey. Oh my goodness Greg Stacey. He's a pretty happy guy; always a smile on his face. He has short wavy brown hair, and bright blue eyes. "You writtin' to your gramps again?" He sat down across from me with his breakfast tray. Today there was hard bread buttered with some kind of fake butter, powdered eggs that were slightly green, and a slice of...apple?

"As a matter of fact, I am. Are you committing suicide?" I said, eying his tray.

"As a matter of fact, I am." He shot at me, doing a quick raise of his eyebrows, and taking a forkful of powdered eggs. He couldn't keep his face straight as he gagged a little. I chuckled a little, and went back to writing. "So, what are you writing to him about this time?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'll tell him about that kid-"

And then, the shrill voice of my Colonel interrupted me. "CAPTAIN PIERCE!"

I cringed at the sound of my name, and quickly spit out to Greg, "What'd I do?"

He shook his head with wide eyes. "I don't know, but you should run. She sounds mad!"

And I grabbed my pad of paper, pen, and ipod, and booked. I ran to the serving table, and jumped over it. Then, I rolled under the flap that was like a back door. When I looked up, I came up to stare at the Colonel. "Oh shit." I murmured. Then I smiled nervously up at her. "Hi, Colonel."

"What are you doing on the ground, Captain?" She said with a very angry, army like tone.

"Well," I started to explain with a little nervous laughter. "It's a funny story. Um, I heard you call me, and you sounded a little angry, so I kind of ran away, and I took a wrong turn." I tried the smile again, but it didn't work.

"Do you know why I'm upset?"

I shook my head. I was now sitting up with my legs spread out. "No. But I bet your going to tell me."

She pulled out two items from her pocket. They were both circular patches of fabric that looked like silk. "Do you know what these are?"

I didn't have the slightest idea. "You're gonna have to give me a clue."

"These are two patches from my robe. Do you know what they are doing off of my robe!" She said sternly.

I hated it when she accused me of shit I didn't do. "I need one more clue. I am just so close to the answer."

"Don't fool around, Pierce! I know you cut these off so that I would be left with nothing to cover up with! How could you do that to me?!"

I looked up at her. "Margaret, look at me. Do I look like I did that? If I ever did something like that, I would have said, 'Sorry man, my bad, won't happen again.' I mean, really. Why would I do that?" She seemed speechless. "You know Colonel," I got up off of the ground and wiped the dirt off my pants. "I don't like it when people accuse me of something I didn't do. I am not my grandfather. I am my own person." Then, I walked away, sighing. I went back into the mess, and I sat back down across from Greg.

"What'd you do?" He asked, picking at his eggs.

"Someone cut two holes in the Colonel's robe this morning. She blames me." He sighed and I rolled my eyes.

"Your gramps really screwed up your chances of getting in the Colonel's good graces."

"I know. But I still love him." Then I got an idea. "Hey, now I have something to write to him about."

"Yeah, tell him how much he ruined your stay in the lovely 1404th." I shook my head and returned to my letter.

_Dear Hawkeye,_

_I'm glad to hear that Tina is alright. It scared me when you told me that she fell off her playground and didn't wake up. I've known her since she was born, and I feel like an older sister. Not much has happened here since I last wrote. We're still doing meatball surgery, kids are still lying about their ages to get in the army, and Guy Mendel is still the stiff he was since he was hatched._

_Something that's been happening a lot since I got here happened again like two minutes ago. Hot Lips just accused me of ruining her robe for my entertainment. My goodness, I'm getting so sick of it. You know that I may joke around, but I would never destroy property. Ever. And it's not just when stuff happens to her, no, it's when other people are getting pranked on that I also get blamed. _

_I'm sending you some money for groceries and things. I know that you make money with your private practice, but I just want you to be set._

"Hey," Greg interrupted me. "I'll see you later. The guys want to play some basketball." I nodded and he left.

_Greggo says hi, and he can't wait until his Gran sends some more of her cookies so I can send them to you. You know, he's taken a real shine to the Hawkeye I've told him about. And don't worry, we are just friends, and we are staying just friends. Well, I should probably go, got a patient to check on in Post OP._

_Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye,_

And I signed it. I looked around, and the only other person in the mess tent at (I looked at my watch) 10:34, was the priest. He's a swell guy, so nice, handsome, and just all around saintly. "Hey Father," I called to him.

He turned and smiled at the recognition. "Yes Cal?"

"Um, could you read over this letter to my grandfather? I want to make sure I spelled everything right."

"I would be honored to." He smiled, and sat down next to me. I handed him the letter and he read it carefully. "Everything looks good, but I don't think you spelled your name right. As far as I know, your name is spelled

C-A-L, not A-R-T."

I looked around the tent, and no one but us was in there. "Father, can I entrust you with a secret?"

"Of course, my child. Anything you say is off the record."

"Cal is not my real first name. It's Artemis."

"Artemis?" he questioned.

"It's a long story."

He just smiled. "I've got time."


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay, well it started when my father-" I started, but the company clerk, Peter Norris, came rushing into the mess tent.

"Cal, we got choppers coming in like two minutes." He left as quickly as he came.

"To be continued." I said to him, getting up and rushing to the helicopter pad. There were three of them, all carrying three soldiers. I went up to one, and checked him out, "This guy's got a big hole in his chest and bleeding heavily, make him first in line!" I said to the two medics that were loading him onto the gurney. "I'll be right there!" I quickly searched for Greg: he was looking at a man with a bandage on his leg. I went up to him, "Hey, I got to go, can you handle this?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I'm almost done." Then, I ran off and followed my patient, but changed direction and went into Pre-Op. I didn't have time to change into a pair of scrubs, so I just quickly washed my hands, put on rubber gloves and a mask, and ran into the operating room. I got to my table, and looked at the guy's dog tags.

"Get me a pint of B Negative to start." I said to the medic who prepped the guy. You know, it's weird, after all this time of just doing the same surgeries over and over, you don't even think about it anymore. It's like you don't even care that you have a life to save, like it doesn't even matter. Because there is always another person who needs your help. The session was so routine, that I didn't even notice when one guy was done and another was on my table. And when they stopped coming, I just moved onto another table to help another surgeon.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Hey, Cal," Greg started after our session as we were sitting in the changing room. "How many did you do today? Sixteen?" He looked over at me when I didn't answer, and he smiled when he saw that I was sleeping.

"Let her sleep, she deserves it." Father Drake said, he usually sits with us after surgery. "I was counting; she did eighteen kids, and helped out with four others."

Greg shook his head, "I don't know how she does it. None of us can keep up with her."

"I can." Guy protested.

Greg rolled his eyes. "Barely. How many you get today? Ten?"

"Fifteen." He corrected. "And it's not my fault that she started before me. I mean, she left the pad right after she got there." God, why did he have to be so snarky?

"The kid she started with had a gigantic hole in his chest! If she didn't operate then, he would have died. She didn't even have time to change into a pair of scrubs Guy! Lay off." Colonel Houlihan defended me. "Greg, why don't you take her to her tent? Let her sleep."

He nodded, and picked me up without disturbing me. He then took me back to my tent, which was half-way across the compound.

"When are those two ever going to get together?" Margaret said after Greg had gotten out of hearing distance.

"I don't know, but if it doesn't happen soon, I'm going to lock those two in a room and pray for the best."

Margaret gaped. "Father!"

He smiled and blushed. "What? It's like a typical love story between those two."

She smiled back and shook her head.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

After Greg had arrived at my tent, he opened the door silently, and laid me down on my bed gently. He started to take off my shoes when I stirred and sort of woke up. I groaned and he shushed me. "Go back to sleep Cal, I'll be out of here in a second." He took off my shoes, and brought my blanket up so that it covered me. When I wouldn't go back to sleep, he rubbed my arm soothingly. "You done did good, kid. You done did good." He finally lulled me back to sleep, and left without another word.

When he went back to the Mess Tent, he saw that my notepad, pen, and ipod were still on the table. He flipped the notepad to one of the last pages, and began to write:

_Dear Hawkeye,_

_It's Greg again. I just wanted to tell you, that Cal did absolutely amazing in surgery today. She took eighteen out of forty-seven wounded by herself. And she helped out with four others. Hawk, I gotta tell you; she is the best surgeon I have ever seen. You should be proud. Shoot, you probably are as you read this. Also, I just wanted to know if you were still in contact with the hospital. Sending her here was unforgivable, especially since she was supposed to be on loan. I can't wait till we get back to the states so I can show them Hell. She deserves much better treatment than she got back there. I know you probably think I'm crazy for getting off on this tangent, and I'm sorry. Tell me about Crabapple Cove. Whenever I ask Cal about what her childhood was like, she totally blanks and moves onto another subject. Do you know why that is?_

_Greggory Stacey_

He finished the letter, and headed towards the Company Clerk's Office. "Hey Pete, got a letter to send. Envelope please?" He smiled innocently as Pete sighed and took one out of his top middle drawer. Greg folded up the letter and placed it in the envelope. He addressed it and again begged. "Stamps?"

Pete sighed again. "Why don't you have your fam send you some like everyone else? I don't have an unlimited supply, you know!"

"Pete," Greg started, trying to say this gently. "Yes you do."

"Shut up." Peter said as he handed a stamp book to Greg. When Greg handed him the letter, he quickly read the address. "Crabapple Cove? Who do you know in Crabapple Cove? That's where Cal lives."

"A friend of the family. Just send it." Pete shook his head as he dropped it in the box.

"Hey, how's Cal doing? I heard she got eighteen today."

"Dude, she was so tired. She fell asleep as soon as she sat down." He looked up at the clock. "Oh, well that's just not fair."

"What?" Pete turned around and looked at the clock that was sitting on his desk.

"It's 7:30 in the morning." Greg sighed. "She's going to wake up in a half hour." He got up and started to leave.

"Where're you going?" Pete asked.

"Going to change her alarm."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"_I'll be right back, Cal." Danny Pierce said. He got up from the table and went up the stairs. I was so excited. It was my 6th birthday and Dad had just gone upstairs to get my present. Hawkeye had gotten me the new pair of shoes that I wanted. He was right now sitting next to me at the dinner table. Ever since I could remember, Hawkeye has been coming over to the house and having dinner with us every night. _

_After twenty minutes, I started to get worried. "Excuse me Hawkeye. I'm gonna see what's taking him so long." I got out of my chair and crept up the stairs. "Daddy?" I called out as I approached his room. The door was slightly ajar, so I pushed it open. My heart stopped. "HAWKEYE!" I screamed when I saw him. He had laid down onto his bed, and had taken a blade from a pair of scissors to his wrists and throat. There was so much blood...it was everywhere... As soon as I screamed, Hawkeye raced up the stairs. When he looked into the room, he pushed my face into his chest to keep me from looking._

"_Don't peek, Art. Don't peek." Hawkeye was shaking with sobs. His only son was dead, and his granddaughter had lost her innocence so early in life. It wasn't fair. He held me so tight, never letting go. Never wanting to let go. He looked into the room again, seeing the man who had been his son. Danny's face was stuck in a 'peaceful' look. _

I gasped as I shot up. I was breathing heavily, and sweat was dripping down my face. "Get outta there." I hit my head, trying to make myself forget. Now I remember why I don't sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

"Uh, oh." Greg said as he entered my tent about an hour later. "You're doing a puzzle."

I turned to him, and shook my head as I turned back. "People do puzzles. It is a common thing." I placed a piece onto the border.

"Maybe for a normal person. But you, my friend, are not normal." He sat down next to me at the table I had in my tent. Because I was the only woman surgeon, I got my own tent. Apparently Hot Lips had a problem with surgeons and nurses together. Like I was really going to do something sketchy.

"When did you figure that out?" I put another piece, and Greg started to help.

"When normal people do puzzles, they do it for entertainment. When you do a puzzle, you do it to escape. So, what are you escaping from?" He stared at me, but I kept doing the barn with a brown horse.

I slightly shook my head. "Nothing."

"Cal, the only way that you're going get over the whole, 'escaping' thing, is for you to finish the puzzle. Now I will take this piece, and keep from you until you tell me what's wrong."

Damn him for stealing my piece. "Just a dream. Just a bad dream."

He squinted his eyes at me. "Why don't I believe you?"

"Because I'm not trustworthy. Actually, I am. You're the one that's not trustworthy." I took the piece from his hand, and began my puzzle again. "You changed my alarm this morning. Why?"

He shrugged and placed another piece. "You needed sleep."

I scoffed. "You know I don't believe in sleep."

"Which is why you need it."

"Because of you, I had the dream. And the dream is why I'm doing the puzzle; so this puzzle is all your fault."

He stared at me. After a while, I looked up at him. I had tired blue eyes that were surrounded by dark circles. "You don't look good."

"I know."

"Take some R and R. You really need the rest."

I shook my head. "No, I don't need R and R. What I need is a chemically induced coma." I stared at the puzzle again. "How long was I out, anyway?"

"Couple hours. Two, maybe three."

"Attention! Attention! All personnel! Ambulance in the compound! It looks like a big one!" I sighed after Pete had announced to my displeasure.

"Let's go." I got up and ran outside with Greg following closely.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"I need some O positive over here!" I called to anyone who would listen. Father Drake immediately brought over a pint and hooked it up to a needle and placed it into the kid I was working on. "He's got a lot of shrapnel in his stomach; more suction please." I said to the Colonel. I still couldn't see that well. Everything was a little fuzzy. I shook my head, and went back to work. The color contrast between shrapnel and blood helped more than it should have.

"Colonel! Can I have a little help here?" Guy asked from across the room.

"Excuse me, Captain." She said, as she rushed over to Guy's table.

"Anything I can do, Cal?" asked the Father as I shook my head again.

"Yeah, a little more suction please. Every thing's all mixed together." Alright, everything was fuzzy together.

Father Drake looked in before suction. "Cal, everything looks fine. The body's clear."

"Father," Things were starting to go dark on me. "Catch me." I blacked out, and fell backward. Thank God that he did catch me.

"Cal? Cal!" He started to gently hit my face, trying to wake me up.

"What's wrong?" Greg asked from the other half of the room.

"Cal's blacked out! I need a gurney over here!" Father called. Two of the medic's got one immediately, and put me on it. "Take her to Post OP!"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_Blood everywhere...Open wrists and throat... "Don't peek, Art. Don't peek."_

Once again, I awoke with a start. I was breathing slightly over the norm, but someone was holding me down.

"It's alright, Cal. Just relax." Greg was cooing as he stroked my hair. After I had calmed down a little, he let go of me, and grabbed a syringe from a rolling table that was next to him. I grunted when he put it up against the inside of my elbow.

"What're you doing?" I slurred.

"It's just a little sedative. To help you sleep."

I shook my head. "No. Don't leave me with the dream..." I trailed off.

He shushed me and grabbed my hand. "It's going to be okay. I'll be right here, alright. I'm not going to leave you." He gave my hand a squeeze before he let go long enough to inject the sedative and place the needle back down, then he grabbed my hand again. "It's only going to last a couple hours. Just enough for you to get some sleep." His voice became more and more distant as he went on. I closed my eyes, and went to sleep; Greg kept holding my hand, giving it a squeeze every now and then.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"CAPTAIN STACEY!" Colonel Houlihan shouted as she entered Post OP. And boy was she maaaaaaaaaaad.

"Yes, sir." He said as he was checking out a patient.

"Yes, _ma'am_." She corrected.

"I'm not a ma'am, sir."

She tensed for a second, before she said, "Captain, why is there a bottle of amobarbital missing from the supply tent?"

"Because I used it on Cal." He said it like everyone knew about it. Like it was something normal. The Colonel started to debate when Greg interrupted her. "Look, she needed the sleep, and she wasn't going to get it on her own. So I helped her." Margaret just stood there, waiting. "Margaret, how many hours of sleep do you get a night?"

She was a little startled. He never called her Margaret; so far, only Cal had. "About six."

"She gets about three, at the most. And that particular sedative is perfect for her insomnia." He knew he had convinced her not to punish him. He was just sprinkling this on to make her feel guilty.

"How many doses have you given her?" She had gotten all sensitive and caring. Margaret was so easy to take advantage of.

"This is the first one." Greg looked so sincere. He had the greatest poker face.

"Keep doing what you have to do." Margaret had taken the bait. She had left with glassy eyes.

Greg smiled when she had gone outside. She had been caught, cleaned and was ready for dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hawkeye and I had gone to a Hotel for a couple nights. Neither of us could stand the thought of Danny being...dead. To keep myself occupied as Hawkeye made the arrangements, I had gone down to the corner store, and boughten a puzzle. I took it back to the room and completed it within the hour. I took it apart, and did it again._

_A while later, Hawkeye came up behind me, and watched me for a while. "What are you working on?"_

"_Puzzle." I mumbled._

"_You buy that at the store?" I nodded. "How many times have you done it?"_

"_Four."_

_He patted my shoulder. "I think it's time for a new puzzle. Common." I stood up, and followed him into the car. He drove us to the store, and we bought about fifteen puzzles; along with a set of knitting needles, and multiple colors of yarn for when I got bored of puzzles. _

_~.~.~.~.~.~.~_

_After a couple days, I went back to school, and it was no picnic. Already, most of the kids didn't like me because I was abnormally intelligent. Kindergarten sucked. The day I returned to school was the day that I got into my first fist fight._

"_Hey Cal!" I heard Mike Niles shout from across the playground. The weather was still decent, so we were still allowed to go outside for lunch. Mike and his 'gang' had come up to the table that I was sitting at. I didn't have that many friends, so I sat alone at lunch. "Heard your Dad died."_

"_Yes. He did. Now please go away." Hawkeye told me to always use my manners, no matter who's talking to me._

"_Who's taking care of you?" He was dishing me fake sympathy. Don't fall for it._

"_My grandfather."_

"_Wasn't he in Korea?" I nodded. "I heard that soldiers there went all crazy like!" He was starting to get on my nerves._

"_Don't talk about Hawkeye like that." My voice was getting threatening._

"_Why not? Is he crazy? He probably is, I heard that he was a doctor at the front lines. No one comes back from that."_

_I stood up. "Shut up, Mike." I was sounding very dangerous._

"_All that crazy probably rubbed off on your Dad. That's probably why he killed himself." _

_I shoved Mike roughly to the ground. "Shut up!" He bounced up quickly and tackled me. We were rolling around on the ground, every now and then there would be a punch thrown. After a crowd had grown around us, the teacher had stepped in. He pulled us apart, and kept us at arm's length._

"_What is the matter with you two?" Mr. Harrigan shouted._

"_She started it!" Mike yelled._

_I didn't say anything. If you didn't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. And what I wanted to say, was not very nice. "Is this true?" he asked me. I didn't say anything. "Come chillun', let's go to the Principal's Office." _

"_What happened?" The Principle, Mrs. Warner asked, sitting behind her desk._

"_Well, my friends and I went over to Cal to give our condolences for her father. And she started going crazy. She's the one that jumped me, I was just protecting myself." Mike said all innocently._

_She then turned to me. "Well?"_

_Again, I had nothing nice to say._

_She sighed. "Miss Pierce, I'm going to have to call your grandfather." I dropped my eyes to the floor. Mike couldn't help but smile evilly. "Mr. Niles, I'm also going to call your mother."_

_He looked at her with pleading eyes. "What? I'm the victim here."_

"_Even so, I want both of your stories. And since Cal's not talking right now, I want both of your parents here. Is that understood, Mr. Niles?" She had a very stern look on her face._

"_Yes ma'am." He whimpered. Mrs. Warner had set a call into the hospital for Hawkeye, and called Mike's house for his mother. Mrs. Niles came right away, but Hawkeye was finishing up a patient so it took him a little bit longer. _

"_You called?" He said as he opened the door and took a seat next to me. _

"_Yes, Dr. Pierce. It seems that young Cal here and Mr. Niles don't get along very well. They got into a fight at lunch today. Mr. Niles claims that he is the innocent one, and that Miss Pierce attacked him; Miss Pierce on the other hand has yet to defend herself."_

_Hawkeye turned to me. "Well?"_

_I looked at him with eyes that didn't used to be cold. "You always told me, that if I didn't have anything nice to say, I shouldn't say anything at all. Well, I didn't have anything nice to say." I let my eyes drop back to the floor._

"_Miss Pierce," Mrs. Warner said very calmly. "Please tell us what happened."_

_I took a deep breath. "I was eating my lunch at my table, like every other day. Mike and his friends come up to me, and they start talking to me. I asked them to go away, and they didn't. Mike started to taunt me, by saying that Hawkeye was crazy because he was in Korea. I told him to be quiet, but he kept on going by saying that the crazy rubbed off onto my dad, and that was why he killed himself. It is true that I pushed Mike first, but he tackled me after that. Then, Mr. Harrigan pulled us off each other, and he brought us here."_

"_My Michael would never-"_

"_Well obviously, he did." Hawkeye interrupted her. He was going to continue and start ranting, but I put a hand on his shoulder._

"_Just let it go, Hawkeye. Let it go. Life is too short to hold grudges." His eyes softened, and he nodded._

"_Okay. It's gone."_

"_The 'it' must mean your dignity right?" I closed my eyes and tensed up when I heard Mike say that. "Or is it your mind?"_

_I slowly turned to him, my eyes flashing with fury. "You leave him alone; or I will come after you. And it won't be pretty. And the 'it', is your face."_

"_That's enough." Mrs. Warner finally stepped in. "Both of you take the rest of the day and cool down. I will not have conflict in my school."_

"_Too late, it's already here." Hawkeye stood up and I followed him out to his car._

_~.~.~.~.~.~.~_

Hawkeye Pierce sat in his car after coming back from the hospital. He was getting too old for this. Maybe after Art comes home, I'll retire, he thought. He got out of his car, and picked up the mail from the box on his house before unlocking the door and going inside. He went into his kitchen and sat down at the dining room table and began to sort mail. Art...Me...Me... Art...M-. He stopped and looked at the name on the return address: Greg Stacey. He looked at the next envelope and smiled. It was from Art. He of course opened that first. He started reading it, and laughed when he read about Guy. From what she's said about him, Guy Mendel sounds like Grade A Frank Burns, he thought. He kept on reading, and frowned when he read about Margaret. After he finished, he picked up Greg's letter and read that. Eighteen? By herself? He knew he should be proud, but he really wasn't. She shouldn't still be there. God damned hospital. She was only supposed to be on loan.

His thoughts were interrupted when the phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey, Hawkeye Pierce?"

He raised his eyebrow. "Who's asking?"

"I'm Greg Stacey from M*A*S*H 1404th."

"Oh, yes, you're Cal's friend. I just finished reading your letter."

"Yeah, um...Cal's birthday is next month," Greg kind of trailed off.

"And?"

"Well, I think it would be a great present if you could make the trip and come and see her for a day or two." He was so full of hope.

"Well, if it's okay with Margaret, I would be glad to come."

"That's great! Alright, here's Margaret." Greg handed the phone to Margaret.

"Hawkeye?"

"Oh, Hot Lips, I hear you've been messing with my granddaughter."

"That was a misunderstanding. You see, a couple days ago my tent was broken into-"

"Look Margaret, she's a good girl. She would never do anything to hurt anybody. And it better be alright for me to visit, because I'm coming down whether you like it or not."


	5. Chapter 5

I slowly opened my eyes. I looked around and saw Greg sleeping in a chair next to me. I smiled, and moved my arm to grab his hand. I gave it a squeeze, and let it go. That boy cared too much. For the first time in about twenty-two years, I actually felt rested. I heard a groan from the other side of Post OP, so I got up and started heading over. Awake for two seconds and I'm already back to work. I grabbed the chart that was hanging, and sat down next to the soldier.

"Hello, my name is Dr. Pierce. What's wrong?" I was about to check him out when he didn't respond, but Nurse Kate came over.

"I'll get it Dr. Pierce, his hearing aid is making a high pitched noise. It just needs to be reset." I was taken slightly aback when she came and took over, but I got over it.

When she left, I still remained next to the man. I started to talk to him using some sign language and speaking slower. "You're deaf?" He nodded. "Where's your aid?" He shrugged his shoulders. "Was he with you when you arrived in the ambulance?" He nodded. "Have you seen him since you got here?" He nodded again.

"Oh, your awake!" I turned to find a tall man with bright red hair and a blue eyed Husky coming towards us.

"Are you this soldiers aid?" I asked sternly like a concerned doctor should.

"As a matter of fact, I am. And this is hearing dog, Archer. Your colonel has already checked us both out, and we are perfectly fit to be in here. I was just bringing Adams some lunch." He held up a tray and took my seat next to him.

"Adams?" I questioned, trying to remember if I worked on him or not.

In answer to my question, the aid snapped his fingers twice. I smiled at the reference, and continued to look at his chart. "Oh! Boo Radley!" I was sort of shocked when I heard the fantastic literary reference, but none the less, still shocked.

"Excuse me?"

"I forgot to grab a fork. Could you watch him for a minute, I'll be right back." I nodded, and he left the tent. I sat down at my original seat, and took a good look at the chart. Almost immediately, I looked away. Huntington's. Who knows how long he has left; when he was diagnosed. I just stared at the man who was drifting back into unconsciousness until the aid came back. He pulled up a chair next to me, and laid the tray of food on the bedside table.

"How long has Adams had Huntington's?" I asked after a minute of silence.

"This year will make ten." The slightly older aid suddenly sounded like Hawkeye after...dad's death; so much older.

"He doesn't look older than twenty." Oh, great. Margaret had brought out my maternal instincts, that had never existed until I got here.

"That's cause he is twenty."

"Has he always been deaf?" I, like Hawkeye, liked to get to know my patients at the hospital. Sometimes I would spend a hours talking to them.

"No. We were military brats when we were kids. We met a couple times during all of the moving around, but we really became friends when we enlisted together. He just recently became deaf at a bombing. Never left him since."

I looked over to him. "You're a good friend."

"Everyone needs someone." He said it like it was common knowledge.

"Yes, they do. Mine is the one sleeping in the chair over yonder." I nodded over towards Greg. "I came here about two years ago, and we hit it off the moment we met. But alas, I have a terrible case of insomnia, and my wonderful friend decides to sedate me so I could get a couple hours. And the thing is, I don't feel any hatred or anger towards him. I'm actually thankful for having a guy like him look after me." I started staring at Greg. He looked so adorable- NO! No no no no no no no no no, he's your best friend. You can't think about stuff like that. "How old were you when you two met?"

"I was fourteen, he was nine. You?"

"I was twenty-eight. Him twenty-nine." Most likely because he was bored, Archer came up and laid his head on my lap. I always liked dogs, so I gently started to pet him.

"That's weird." The aid said.

"What?"

"Archer doesn't normally take to strangers. He's only just started to like me, and I've been with him for ten weeks." I smiled at him, then at Archer. He stared at me with sad blue eyes. The Pierce eyes. Then Archer shot a quick look at Adams, and started whimpering. He padded over to his side, and started to lick his hand, trying to wake him up. I went over to him, and checked his neck for a pulse. There wasn't one.

"Someone get Father Drake!" I shouted and the nurse on duty ran out, while Greg got up and headed over to the three of us. He started to resuscitate Adams, but I stopped him. "Don't Greg. He had Huntington's. There's no way to stop it." He backed off, and Father Drake came running in.

He gave Adams his last rights, and we all hung our heads in silence. The aid pulled the blanket on the bed over Adams' head, and Archer gave another whimper.

"I should start making arrangements, and contact his parents." The aid mumbled to no one in particular.

"I'll take you to our Company Clerk. Common Archer." I led the aid and the dog followed. "Hey, Petey." I said to the kid when we walked in. "Dudsie here needs to make a couple calls. You take care of him alright?"

"Yes, ma'am." Pete smiled.

I turned back to the aid. "Young Peter here will make sure you get everything you need." I started to walk away, and Archer followed me. "No, Archer. Go with him." But he wouldn't leave my side. He kept looking at me with the family eyes.

"If you want, you can keep him." I looked up at him. "To tell you the truth, I don't like dogs very much." He smiled sheepishly.

"Okay. Common, Archer." I walked away with a utterly confused look, and went back to the mess tent. I went in, and grabbed a tray. I started down the line, and every now and then I had the cook splatter something on said tray. I looked at Archer, and took the... 'food' back to my tent. I sat down on my bed, and showed him the tray. "You want anything?" He turned his nose up at it.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Four days later, I got a letter from Hawkeye. He wrote:

_Dear Art,_

_Every time you bring up that song, I feel like crying. I just can't wait until you come back. The hospital is no fun without you. I'm still trying to get Dr. Saddler to bring you back. But he keeps saying that you're a draftee now, and there's nothing that he can do._

_So, tell me what you want for your birthday. This is the first birthday that we haven't been together, and I want to make sure that you get the best present. Send Greg my regards, and tell Margaret that I'll come after her if she wrongs you like that again._

_Sorry I don't have anything else to tell you,_

_Capt. Hawkeye Pierce_

I chuckled slightly as I started my next letter to him. Archer was sitting at my side with his head in my lap. I had become accustomed to him being there; a momentary escape from the war to pet his soft head.

_Dear Hawkeye,_

_You can forget about the hospital, Saddler never tries as hard as he says. He's not even thinking about getting me back. And speaking of that day, the only thing I can think of for you to send me, is a kennel. One of my latest patients was a deaf man, and he died. His aid had given me his dog, because he didn't like them. So, we now have a Siberian Indian Husky named Archer. He's a good boy, and very loyal. It's funny, he's got the Pierce eyes. Won't Crabapple Cove be proud._

_Margaret sends her love, and Greg's salutations. Hawk, I keep seeing the same memory, over and over. I can't even get more than three hours by myself. Greg actually sedated me so I could get a full nights rest. Why won't they go away?_

_Art_


	6. Chapter 6

"Common Petey! I need that unit now!" I said as I tried to keep this kid's wound from killing him. Seconds later, Pete came and started to hook him up to the unit. "What are they shooting these kids with?" I asked myself as I pulled out another piece of shrapnel.

"It that all, Captain?" Margaret asked as she put her hand over the table to pick up another tool asap.

"No, I saw more over by the liver. I just have to get this...one...little...piece." I pulled out another tiny piece, and placed it in the dish. "Did he just stand in front of the gun and ask to be shot four times?" I moved around in this poor guy's stomach area, and got to the liver. "Half of his liver is gone, Margaret." I heard her sigh.

"He can live with half a liver." She peered into this man's stomach.

"I know. Scalpel." She handed the sterile one, and I started to dig into this guy's liver. "Hey, Petey! How many we got left out there?"

"This is it."

I sighed in thanks, and continued with this poor kid. There was no way he was twenty.

~.~.~.~.~.~

I sat down with Greg in the scrub area, and closed my eyes. It was weird, it's been almost a month since I sent my letter to Hawkeye, and still no reply. And that dreadful day was tomorrow, could this week be any worse? "I was so close to saving that kid, Greg. So, bloody close." He gripped my shoulder.

"You can't save everyone, Cal. You know you can't."

"I know." I shook my head. "I'm gonna go to the Officer's Club for a little bit. You coming?" I got up, and he did to.

"Yeah, I could use some 'warm milk' to get me to sleep." We walked across the compound to the bar, and sat down on two free barstools.

"What can I get you guys?" The cook, Parker James, asked as he played bartender for the week.

"Whiskey." Greg pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Vault." I don't drink my pain away with alcohol, I use caffeine.

PJ's eyes went slightly wider. "You sure you wanna Vault?"

I nodded. "Make it two. In a tall glass." He nodded, and left to fulfill our orders.

"Something's bothering you." Greg pointed out the obvious.

"That kid-" I started, but he interrupted.

"You would only have had one pop if it was only that kid. What else?" He couldn't just live and let die, could he?

I sighed, "I haven't heard from Hawkeye in like, a month, and I'm starting to get worried."

He shrugged. "Mail's been kinda slow lately. I'm sure you'll hear from him soon." We nodded as PJ put down our order. I took a long drink, and enjoyed the tickle that the Vault left behind in my throat.

"Uh, they...they would contact me if something happened to him, right? I mean, I'm his only kin-"

"Of course they would contact you!" Greg said it like he was ashamed I even thought that. "This is the army for God's sake." His sipped his whiskey. After a minute of drinking in silence, he asked out of the blue. "You going to the movie tomorrow? It's _The Day The Earth Stood Still_."

I shook my head, "No. I never go. The day we get _Rocky Horror Picture Show_, I'll be the first one there." I took another long chug.

"Doctors, may I join you?" Colonel Houlihan asked as she sat down next to us.

"Of course, Margaret." Greg and I said in unison. She signaled PJ over, and ordered a scotch and water, hold the scotch. "So, Margaret," I started. "What are you drinking away?"

"This war." She said simply as she took her first sip.

"Us too." Greg took another sip, I took a swig.

"So, Pierce, it's your birthday tomorrow..." She trailed off, a smile behind her glass.

I groaned and put my head in my hands. "Oh, don't remind me. It's bad enough that I knew, now the both of you know. The entire camp better not know by tomorrow, or I'll have both of your heads."

"Oh, lighten up Pierce." Margaret playfully hit my arm, and chuckled. "A birthday is a special day where you can celebrate one more year of life."

I rolled my eyes. "I just hate my birthday, that's all."

"Something you want to share with the group, Cal?" Greg teased slightly.

"Yes, Dr. Phil; my birthday, is the day that, my best friend Greg, finally came out of the closet." I faked sobbed, and Greg looked at me. When I looked up and saw his face, I burst out laughing, which caused Margaret to start. "Oh, I'm sorry buddy. You know I love you, no matter what you turn out to be." I smiled a wicked smile and ruffled his hair.

"Hey, Pierce!" I turned to PJ who was standing at the door. "I think you have a visitor." He let the visitor come in, and Archer made his way over to me, wagging his tail as everyone turned to pet him. The whole camp loved him, he really was the best thing to happen to this camp since PJ arrived.

My face lit up. "Hi Archer! How you doing boy?" Greg, Margaret and I started to pet and pamper him, and his tail wagged faster. "You hungry buddy?" He barked. "Hey PJ! Archer's hungry!"

"Coming right up, boss!" I heard him shout. Boss? Since when was I his boss? He came out from behind the bar, and put a bowl of today's chicken and gravy, along with a pile of onions, salt and pepper. "There you go, disgusting, just the way you like it." Archer dug in. I turned back to the counter, and finished my pop. By the time I had paid, Archer had finished inhaling his dinner.

"I think we're going to turn in. Bye." I got up and Archer was immediately up at attention.

"Bye." The Colonel and Greg said as he ordered another. I left with Archer following me. We took a nice quiet stroll back to my tent, and settled down. I changed for bed, and after I laid down, Archer jumped onto my cot, and curled up at my feet. "Prepare for tomorrow, buddy. Greg is such a blabber mouth."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Is everything set?" Greg asked as they watched me go out of hearing distance.

"Yes. Hawkeye's in the VIP tent. I told him not to come out until morning."

"You did give him something to do, didn't you?"

Margaret scoffed. "Of course. He's writing the letter that Cal's been waiting for."

"Did you feed him and walk him, too?" Greg teased.

"Well, you know..." She smiled and trailed off.

"Ew." Greg said and walked back into the bar.


	7. Chapter 7

I wasn't asleep long before I shot up again. Bloody memory. I lightly rubbed my eyes, and started to pet Archer. Boy could sleep through anything. I envied him. I got up and grabbed my green khaki uniform. I refused to wear army boots, so I get a pair of Chuck's every opportunity I get. I also snatched my shower bag and a towel from my foot locker and headed towards the shower. The three to four o'clock hour was the best time to take a shower. I mean, there was plenty of hot water, and no one's fighting to get one. The hot water felt great as it pounded down on me. All of my tight muscles in my neck and back just melted away. When I got out and dressed, I felt great. I walked back to my tent, put on my ipod, and returned to my puzzle. The first song that my ipod shuffled to was _Breakaway_ by Kelly Clarkson. I stopped doing my puzzle and just froze.

_Grew up in a small town_

_And when the rain would fall down_

_I'd just stare out my window_

_Dreaming of what could be_

_And if I'd end up happy_

_I would pray_

I miss Crabapple Cove. I miss Hawkeye. Bloody hospital.

_Trying hard to reach out_

_But when I'd try to speak out_

_Felt like no one could hear me_

_Wanted to belong here_

_But something felt so wrong here_

_So I pray_

_I could breakaway_

This song was playing at the airport the day I left. Hawkeye and I were standing at the gate, and we were getting ready to say goodbye..._ "Art, I don't want you to leave. I know how wars go, they're not fun." Hawkeye tried one last time to get me to stay._

_I gave him a sad smile. "Hawkeye, you know I have to go. Hot Lips needs a Pierce's expertise. Why do you think she requested a surgeon from our hospital? And no way in hell am I letting you go to another war. Don't worry, I'll be okay." I let my ears listen to the background music that the airport was playing, and I started to softly sing to him. "Out of the darkness and into the sun, but I won't forget the place I come from..." I trailed off, and he looked at me with terribly sad eyes._

"_I don't want to lose you too." He said grabbing my hands._

"_You won't lose me. I wouldn't allow it." I gave him a peck on the cheek, and a giant hug. "I'll write every single chance I get. And you better write back, or I would be very upset." He gave a small chuckle._

"_If you keep writing to me, I'll continue writing to you." I gave him another giant hug._

"_I'll be back soon. I love you, Gramps."_

"_Love you too, Art." I went through the gate, and waved good bye._

It's been a little under two years ago since I've seen him. God I miss him. While I was having a flashback, the song ended and went to _Red Dirt Road_ by Brooks and Dunn. I didn't get to really listen to the song before the PA system interrupted. "Attention! Attention! Ambulance in the compound!" At this early in the morning? Weird. I rushed out and met Greg and a few nurses at the ambulance. At least there were only three.

"What happened? I thought we just got done with the casualties from the last shooting?" Greg asked as he checked one of the men. "He got hit in his leg, get him into OR."

"They were out on patrol, and they met up with a couple of enemies doing the same thing, and they felt like they just had to shoot." The medic said, shaking his head.

"This one just got nicked in the arm." I moved from one of our guys, to one of theirs. "What about the other enemies?"

"He died. He got hit in the forehead." The medic said like it was routine, and was. Death was nothing new to him.

I nodded, and looked at the last guy, "He'll be fine. Just a shot in foot." I smiled slightly, but then swallowed it.

"Do you need me, Pierce?" Margaret asked covering herself with a new robe.

"No, we're good Colonel. Go back to sleep." She nodded, and slowly went back to her tent.

"Another ambulance is on the way! Thirty minutes tops!" The PA system shouted. "Apparently the surprise shooting inspired another round! Sorry folks." Now everyone was up. Nurses and medics filed out of their tents, most of them groaning. I started rushing to the OR, when someone coming out of the VIP tent stopped me.

"Hawkeye! What the hell are you doing here?" I ran up to him. He was supposed to stay away from the war.

"Well, originally I was supposed to be a surprise birthday present, but now I'm here to help you guys." I rolled my eyes and had to think.

"I-I-I don't know. It's been a while since you've seen this-"

He interrupted me as we started for the OR. "I'll never forget it though." His tired blue eyes caught mine.

"Fine. Just promise that you won't hold me back when I kill Greg later." He chuckled as we entered and scrubbed. After we had dressed, we entered the OR, and I led him to the table with one of the American soldiers while I took the Iraqi kid. While everyone was still outside getting ready for the next load, I put the kid under myself, and cut into his foot. I grabbed the sterile tweezers from the rolling side table, and pulled the largest piece of the bullet and placed it in the pan on the same table. Thank goodness that the bullet didn't explode into a thousand pieces like some of the kids that I've worked on. There were only about four separate sections of the bullet. After I carefully removed the shrapnel, I checked to see if the bullet injured his foot in any way. An artery was nicked; it was small enough that a simple sewing shut should be enough to stop the bleeding. Without looking up, I picked up a swab made the wound clearer. I dropped the swab on the floor, and picked up an already prepared needle. I was always a pro at sewing. In no time at all, the artery was closed, and I was finishing closing the foot.

"Finished, Captain Pierce?" One of the medics checking in on Greg, Hawkeye, and myself asked.

"Yeah."

"Almost." Hawkeye and I said at the same time. "Now, I'm done."

"Hawk, this is going to be so confusing." I said, helping the medic take the Iraqi to Post OP.

"Don't I know it. At least we don't have an entire hospital calling us both 'Dr. Pierce'. That was even worse."

"Very true." I left with the medic, and placed the soldier carefully in the nearest bed.

"Attention! Attention! All personnel! The ambulance is two minutes away!" I ran straight from Post OP to the group of Nurses, medics, and us now four surgeons that had accumulated in front the OR building. A minute later, the ambulance pulled in, and we got to work on unloading and diagnosing their wounds. As soon as we finished we rushed back into OR, and for the first time since this unit opened, even though I wasn't there, we had four surgeons working. I was pretty glad that Hawkeye was there, I didn't have to take as many casualties to pick up the slack for Guy.

"Hey, Cal." Hawkeye started as he continued to take shrapnel out of his fourth guy of the early morning. "You'll never guess-"

"Shh. She's working, Hawkeye." Margaret was assisting him. He gave her a quick look of question, and then went back to work. "Cal zones out when she performs surgery."

"Really?" Hawkeye had never stopped in and watched me operate at the hospital before.

"Yeah, her focus really saves us during what would be a forty hour shift back in Korea by turning it into only a twenty hour shift. She is one of the best surgeons I've ever seen."

"Colonel, Hawkeye, please don't talk about me like I'm not here." I was in between patients, so I listened for a second.

"Yes, picking favorites isn't very military Colonel."

"Oh, shut up Guy." Greg said from across the room. "You know she's better than you."

"Greg, please don't make me put you on my table and take out your liver. You're already on my shit-list, don't make me put you on the top. Same for you Guy." Alright, another patient. In almost no time at all, we ran out of casualties, and I was at Guy's table assisting the nurses like it was the most natural thing in the world. It was the most natural thing in the world.

When I get a chance, which probably won't be until I get home, I really need to get a CT-scan. I don't like the fact the I will forget random segments of OR sessions, or when I suddenly end up at the mess tent or Post OP randomly. It's gotta be a concussion, I don't know how big or small, or even where, but it _has _to be a concussion. I would bet Guy's left kidney on it.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Hey, Cal," Hawkeye interrupted me outside Post OP. Oh, god, it happened again.

"Yeah, Hawk?" I really hope he didn't notice the whole 'auto-pilot' thing.

"In your last letter, you mentioned a dog. I want to meet him." I chuckled and nodded.

"Okay. And he is as friendly as I've told you. Trust me." We headed in the direction of my tent. When I opened the door, Archer immediately jumped up to greet me. He barked in excitement as I stepped to the side and let Hawkeye in. "Archer, this is Hawkeye. Hawkeye, this is Archer."

Hawkeye bent down and started to pet his head. "Hello there." He cooed, and Archer loved being praised like that, and he started to lick Hawk's face. Out of nowhere, there was a knock on my door.

"Yes," I sang as I opened my door. I was met by the four nurses of the camp.

"Cal, our stove went out! It's freezing in our tent!" They were shivering.

"It's February second, it's supposed to be cold." I knew I was going to fix their stove again, I just hated doing it.

"Please Cal!" I rolled my eyes, and turned to Hawkeye who was now playing with Archer.

"I'll be right back Hawk." Then I grabbed the box of matches from my stove and let them lead the way to their tent. Next to their tent was Greg and Guy's, so I banged on the door. "Greg common, their stove went out again." I heard him grumble and made him physically get out of bed.

"But mommy, I don't wanna go to school today!" He complained as I pushed him forward.

"You are not staying home and baking cookies with me." When we got into the tent, the nurses applauded us.

"Thank you, so much!" They all seemed to say in their own words.

I let Greg take the stage and hit the stove in all of the right places, and I took out a match and lit it. I bent over, and lit the fuse. What none of us expected was the stove blowing up in my face. I screamed, and covered my face with my hands at the explosion. As soon as the scream left my mouth, Greg reached for me, and pulled me out of the way. He had his arms wrapped protectively around me, as we sat on the ground after falling. I couldn't feel my hands, but I knew I was still covering my eyes with them.

"It hurts Greg. It hurts." I whimpered as the nurses tried to touch me, but Greg wouldn't let them any closer to me.

He shushed me. "I know, I know." He put a kiss to my temple. "You'll be okay. I promise."


	8. Chapter 8

The tent was rushed with people after the flash fire ended. Greg led me to Post OP as Margaret ordered Pete to get the ophthalmologist from the 1794th here asap. Hawkeye and the rest of the group had crowded around to try to help, but whenever someone besides Greg and Margaret got too close, Archer would growl and snap at them. So, they backed off as Margret and Greg led me into Post OP. Only us three were allowed by Archer to come in. They sat me down at the desk since there weren't any open beds, Margaret ordered one of the nurses peeking in from the door to get a wet rag. Greg was holding my hands up, and was gently touching them and looking them over. All of a sudden I felt a warm presence on my lap. Then it let out a whimper.

"I'll be alright Archer. Don't you worry. I'll be fine." He licked my pants, and I said, "I know baby, I know."

"Cal, I need you to hold your hands out as straight as you can, okay?" Greg said, and I nodded. I flattened my hands, and Margaret held my arms to keep them from shaking like they were. Greg put a pad of gauze on my palm, where the flash fire had hit them, and wrapped them with tightly with medical tape. He did that to both hands before I felt a cool, wet rag being placed over my eyes.

"Uh, Colonel?" Margaret turned to Petey who had fought to the front of the pack at the door to give her news. "Lt. Colonel Grant said that his ophthalmologist is on his way right now, and that he'll be here by morning. And Major Nelson said to make sure that her eyes stay closed, and to keep the burn clean until he gets here."

"Thank you, Peter. Tell everyone to go back to their tents, and Hawkeye to meet me in my office." She was washing the soot off of my face and hands with another wet cloth.

"Yes, ma'am." Then he shooed people away from the door.

"Colonel?" I asked when they stopped probing me.

"Yeah Cal?"

"My hands are going to be okay, right? I mean, I will have the pleasure of working on more casualties, right?" I couldn't see her, but she looked uneasily at Greg, who nodded his head.

"Of course. Couldn't let you skip out on the war now could we?" She joked.

I gently shook my head, "Don't lie to me, Margaret."

She put a stern look on her face. "Your hands are going to be fine, Artemis. You'll still be able to play doctor when this is all over."

I scoffed. "Guy's the only one who plays doctor around here." And that caused Margaret to chuckle. "Am I going to wait here for the eye doc, or am I going to be led back to my tent?"

"Greg will take you back to your tent momentarily." Margaret stood up and checked the doors to see if they actually listened to Pete. Amazingly, they did. "Okay, Greg. You're good." He helped me stand up, and caught me when my legs were suddenly made out of jelly.

"You okay?" He asked, wrapping his arm around my waist and behind my knees, lifting me up into his arms.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He made sure to make the journey as smooth as possible. Archer went ahead of Greg and pushed the door open, so that he could come in without any trouble. He gently sat me on my bed, moved the pillow so that I could lean on it. "You know, I was expecting you to bring up the whole 'Artemis' thing by now." I sadly let out a chuckle as he covered me with my blanket.

"I figured you would explain it when you wanted."

"When did you grow up?" I tried to lighten the mood.

"About ten minutes ago." Thank heavens I couldn't seen his face, I wouldn't want to. He mostly likely looked like he sounded, and he sounded terribly depressed. I hate it when he's sad.

"Greg, please don't be sad-"

"But, it was _my_ fault Cal. If it wasn't for my stupid thing with fire-" He sniffled, and I knew he was either crying, or on the verge.

"Greg, come here." I lightly patted the spot next to me. When he didn't, I said a little more sternly. "Greggory Thatcher Stacey, come here." He finally sat down next to me, and I wrapped my arms around him. "Don't you dare blame yourself. It was my fault. I should have checked for splashes of gasoline but I didn't. And you saved me. You hurt yourself pulling me away from the fire. I can feel the burn on your arm; you fought your biggest fear to save me. Why?"

He shrugged. "You're my best friend, I can't stand to see you get hurt."

I was quiet for a minute before I said kind of cautiously, "Greg, what would you do if I was sent home? If I really did lose my sight, and was sent back to Maine?"

He didn't miss a beat. "I'd follow you."

I was touched. "Really?"

He looked at me like I should have known all along. "Of course."

"You'd go AWOL for me?" Oh, my God. I think I was about to cry.

"In a heartbeat." He meant every word.

I gave him a tight hug, and he hugged me back. "Aw, that's so sweet Greggy!"

"Greggy?" he chuckled.

"Yes, because of your bravery, you have been promoted from Greg to Greggy. Congratulations!" He chuckled, and kissed me, as if it was normal. It was the sweetest kiss I had ever gotten. It didn't surprise him when I started to kiss him back, but it did shock me when he pulled away and stood up. I sat up, and the towel fell off my eyes. The sudden air contact stung my eyes, and I hissed in pain. He came back over, laid me back down, and put the wet towel back on my face. "Greg," I started, but he wouldn't have that.

"Shh." He pet my hair, and got up again. "Get some sleep okay?" He turned off the light, and left. I sniffled and breathed as if I were crying, but no tears came out. No tears had ever come out for anyone. And Greg was no one special. Least he isn't anymore.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Margaret, I have to see her." Hawkeye snarled when she walked calmly into her office. "I have to talk to her! I've read this chapter already! She has to know what I went through-" Margaret silenced him by placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Hawkeye, the ophthalmologist will be here in the morning. You of all people should know that this is not my first rodeo."

He grabbed he hands, and just held them. "I know Margaret. And I know that she is the only one-"

"That we have." She looked down at their hands, and then into his blue eyes.

"Margaret, when all this is over, when this war is over, come back to Maine, to me." He pleaded with both his voice and his eyes.

She took in a graceful breath, and placed her palm on his cheek. "Only on one condition."

"Anything." Even after all these years, he still loved her as much as he had back in Korea.

"Stay until Cal's healed."

He squeezed her hands gently. "I would love nothing more than to stay. But only if I can stay with you." He gave his famous grin and she smiled.

"You haven't changed a bit." He shook his head, and kissed her. She kissed him back and he smiled. "Margaret, there's something I've got to ask you."

"Yes?" Her eyes were searching for the same love in his.

"Will you marry me?" She lit up. "I-I've wanted to marry you ever since, I don't know when." His words stumbled out.

She let out a tear. "Of course I'll marry you." He smiled wide, and gave her a hug. She, of course, hugged him back. At least some people got a happy ending.


	9. Chapter 9

"I came as soon as I could, Colonel." Major Nelson shook Margaret's hand as he got out of his Jeep.

"Thank you, Major. Captain Pierce is this way," she led him to my tent, and knocked on the door. "Cal, can we come in?"

"Yeah, come on in." She opened the door, and I heard their footsteps come to the side of my bed.

"Captain, I'm Major Nelson from the 1794th." He introduced himself as he sat down the chair by my bed.

"Thanks for clearing that up." I said sarcastically, and he didn't catch it.

"How long have you kept the towel on your eyes?"

"All night."

"Good," He got up and removed the towel. "The burn doesn't look too bad. Your hands most likely took the most of it. Colonel, could you cover the windows, and make the tent darker?"

"Of course." Margaret rolled down the blinds to all three windows.

"Okay, now Cal, I want you to put your hand in front of your eyes." I did. "Open your eyes slowly." I opened my eyes, and when I got used to the light, I put my hand down and looked at Major Nelson. "What color is my hair?"

"Red."

He smiled. "Good." He took out a flashlight, and checked my pupil dilation and constriction. "Your pupils are reacting well, so I can only assume that you're going to be fine. If anything else happens, just call and I'll be right over." I nodded, he smiled, and left me with Margaret.

She immediately hugged me. "I'm so happy that you're okay."

"Me too, Colonel." I hugged her back.

She just looked at my eyes. "I've never been so happy to see those pretty blues." I chuckled. "Oh, Hawkeye is going to be so relieved."

"Margaret, what's he doing here? You promised you wouldn't bring him in to this. That's the only reason why I agreed to come."

"I know. But Greg wanted to get you the best birthday present so bad. He begged me to let Hawkeye come here."

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. You broke our deal."

"Hawkeye said that he'd stay until your healed-"

"My hands could take weeks to heal!"

"I promise that he will be gone before then, okay? He leave right after the wedding." Okay, not the best time to tell me about their engagement, but it was still exciting.

"What?"

"Hawkeye asked me to marry him."

I smiled wide. "Finally!" We hugged again. "You're gonna be my grandma." I teased her. "When is the wedding?"

"We'll make it soon."

"That means you're going to live with us. Aw man, you're not going to kick me out, are you?" The only times I've not lived at home was when I did Pre Med at Niagara and Med school at University of Michigan.

"I could never kick you out." She reassured me.

"Thank goodness." I sighed in relief.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Thank God you're okay." Hawkeye said as he hugged me tightly to him.

"You know me, Hawk, I'm always okay." His sad humor definitely ran in the family.

"Don't ever scare me like that again." He said into my hair.

"I'll try not to, but I can't make any promises." He gave that look that told me to stop kidding. "Well I can't!"

"But you can try."

I nodded. "But I can try." We just held each other for a second. "Hawk, you promised you'd stay away from the war. You promised."

"I know. And I'm sorry to break it. But I couldn't stay away from you. You're my life."

I shook my head. "Not anymore. Margaret is to be your life now." I smiled.

"She told you?" I nodded. "Well, you can't trust her with a secret." I chuckled.

"I'm just glad you've got her."

He looked at me sternly. "You'll find someone. It just takes time."

"I doubt it." I shook my head.

"And whys that?"

"My frightening demeanor. I used to scare little kids in the hospital because I had this terrifying look that I was going to kill someone. Which I probably was; most likely Saddler." That made him laugh.

"You'll find him. I know you will."

I shook my head again, "I'm doomed to be a spinster forever. But as long as I'm a doctor, I think I'll be fine."

"That's what I thought when your grandmother left me. But I was never the same."

"Hawk, I-"

"-'m an independent woman, and I don't need a man." I looked at him confusedly. "Margaret said the same thing after her divorce with Penobscot."

"Is nothing that comes out of my mouth original?" He smiled.

"Sorry." I rolled my eyes when he chuckled.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Attention! Attention! All personnel! Ambulance in the compound." I laid in my bed and listened. Margaret said that I'm not allowed to perform surgery or even help out until my hands are healed. She says that I can't be trusted not to drop pints of blood, or syringes, or wounded. Which, when you think about it, really is quite understandable. Who knows how much pain I might be in if I handled anything heavier than a quarter. The bustling of everyone race to the ambulance is a noise that I've come accustomed to being a part of. Hearing it, and not contributing, feels weird. So weird that I hate it. I hate not being able to help. Feeling useless. I hate it. I hate it.

I sighed, I got through my first OR session without actually being there. It was almost as unnerving as my first real OR session. Now _that_ was a rollercoaster ride. Bombs were dropping, more and more wounded by the hour, people yelling at each other; it was crazy.

"Cal?" I heard Petey call as he knocked.

"Yeah?" He came in, and I sat up to look at him.

"Uh, Captain Stacey would like to see you, ma'am." Why was he stuttering?

"Tell him that I don't want to see him."

"He said that if you said that to tell you that he orders you to see him."

"Did he threaten to beat you up again?" I said, shaking my head.

He nervously looked around to make sure that Greg wasn't there. "Big time." He nodded.

"No one threatens my Petey!" I yelled and stood up, getting a little dizzy, but I shook it off. I stormed to his tent, and when I didn't find him there, I went to Post OP. There, I got the biggest shock of my life: Greg was sucking face with Nurse Ander.


	10. Chapter 10

Margaret and Hawkeye were getting married tomorrow. It had been two weeks since I saw Greg and Nurse whats-her-face, and I still wasn't talking to him. But he really didn't notice, which made me very sad. My hands were getting better, but Margaret still won't let me in OR. Damn her.

"Cal?" Father Drake brought me out of my thoughts. "What religion is the wedding going to be done in?"

"Presbyterian."

"Thank you."

He started walking away, but I said, "Uh, Father?"

"Yes Cal?"

"Remember a while ago when I started to talk to you about my dad?"

"Yes."

"Can we start again?" I didn't really want to talk about that, but I wanted to get my mind off of Greg. I really need to get him out of there.

He smiled. "Of course. Please." He motioned for his tent, and I followed obediently. He unfolded a wooden chair for me, and I sat down. "Go ahead."

"My Great-grandfather moved to the best little town in the world: Crabapple Cove, Maine. And my family never left. Daniel Pierce II, my father, was going to college in Illinois, to be a Latin teacher. He loved mythology, and his favorite goddess, was Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, moon, and of young virgins. Which, yeah, the name suits me." He cocked his head in question. "I have yet to have sex."

"Waiting for marriage?" There was a very small glint in his eyes. At least one person in this camp gets what he's all about.

"Yeah."

He smiled. "That's very classy of you."

"Right, um anyway, freshman year, and my dad starts fooling around with this girl. I don't know her name, but I'm assuming it had to be a girl. So, beginning of sophomore year, and this little bundle of flesh is sitting on his doorstep with a note that says, 'take her.' And he does, obviously. And he names me after Artemis, and the muse Calliope, who is the muse of epic poetry."

"Artemis Calliope," He mused (Author -giggles-). "I like it. It really does suit you."

"Thank you Father." I blushed slightly.

"What happened after your father named you?"

"Well, he took a couple days off from school, and brought me to Maine to Hawkeye. He explained everything, and Hawkeye gladly took me in. As I grew up, I only got to see my dad during breaks and summers. When I turned six, my dad came home to celebrate with Hawk and myself. During dinner, he went upstairs to get my present, and killed himself. He slashed his wrists and his throat. About twenty minutes after he went upstairs, I went to see what was taking so long, and I found him on his bed."

The Father got a slightly glassy look in his eyes. "That's where the nightmares come from?"

"You knew about the nightmares?"

"Cal, your tent is right next to mine. Every now and then, I'll hear you screaming."

"I'm sorry if I woke you."

"It's alright. Maybe now that you've got it off your chest, they'll go away."

"One can only hope."

"Is there anything else on your mind, Cal?"

"You can call me Art, father."

A small smile crept on his face. "Art, is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"A couple weeks ago, I saw Greg and Nurse Ander, kissing, and I got very upset. And I shouldn't have. I had no right to."

"Jealousy happens to the best of us." I chuckled a little. "Are you excited for the wedding?"

"Yeah, it's about time they got together. They deserve to be happy."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Margaret was walking down the aisle. God she looked beautiful. Everyone was in their officer uniform, well, except for Father Drake: he was dressed like a priest. PJ was playing the Wedding March on the piano that was rolled in from the officer's club. And Hawkeye was in his old uniform that he had one of the neighbors sent to him. His eyes lit up when he saw her. Petey and I were sitting next to each other in the front row, with Guy and Greg and Marie (Nurse Ander) next to Petey. I'm not one for weddings, but the ceremony was beautiful, and no casualties. Thank God for little miracles.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Guy, please don't go all military crazy while I'm gone. Because if you do, Cal's just going to beat you up again." Margaret warned Guy as her and Hawkeye were going to board the helicopter that was taking them to their hotel in Constantinople (Yes, I understand that it is now called Istanbul, but I hate that name. It's just not as awesome as Constantinople).

"But Colonel, we need some military discipline-"

"Guy, I don't want to hear it. Just let Petey take you through the next few days nice and easy. Now I know that you were born military, so was I, but you just need to relax when it comes to doctors and nurses. Okay?"

"Yes ma'am." We were all at the helicopter pad to wave goodbye to them.

"Hey Jolly Rancher," I whispered to the pilot right before he started the engine. "When you get back, what say you and me go on a little adventure?"

"Got it, boss. You know how much I love adventures." He grinned, and I patted his shoulder before I went back to the group of people waving at the happy couple. In no time at all, they had lifted into the air, and left. I really hope everything turns out well for them.

"Captain Pierce!" Guy called out to me.

I rolled my eyes. "What?"

"I expect you to treat me like a commanding officer, soldier! I demand a salute."

I just stared at him, "Do I really need to kick your ass again?" That made him squirm just enough for me to notice. "Now look, _Major _the best you are **ever **going to get out of me, is a 'what'. Personally, I would just take it and be happy." He was definitely not the alpha in this camp.


	11. Chapter 11

"You ready to do this Captain?" The pilot of the helicopter asked me as I put on my parachute.

"Absolutely." I replied, buckling the strap across my chest. I had been feeling a little stressed lately. Mostly because of the fact that Guy was in charge while Margaret was on her honeymoon in Istanbul; even though I'm still convinced it's Constantinople. "Alright, now remember," I started explaining to the pilot as we reached thirteen thousand feet. "When the tracking device is on, it means I've reached the drop and I'm fine. If it turns off, do not come after me. I repeat, 'DO NOT' come after me. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded, and looked at his coordinates. "Okay, drop off in 3...2...1!"

"Adiós." I said before dropping backwards out of the open side. Sky diving is probably my favorite thing to do. Feeling the wind rush around you feels amazing. You honestly feel free. For a few minutes, I just fell on my back, then I flipped over onto my stomach so I could find the site. After I found it, I started to do flips and other fun stuff to occupy myself until I let out the parachute that I 'borrowed' from the supply tent. As far as I knew, the army frowned upon people hijacking their helicopters and stealing parachutes, but that didn't matter. The army owed me, and if that meant stealing a helicopter for an hour a couple times a month, then so be it. Finally, I pulled the pin, and deployed the parachute. After the small shock of the sudden decrease of speed, I once again searched for the landing site.

"Oh, shit." I said as I searched frantically. "Where's the site?" I grabbed the walkie talkie that was on my belt. "Hey, Jolly Rancher?" His real name was Mitch, but he never leaves anywhere without a handful Jolly Ranchers in his pocket.

"Yeah, boss?"

"Where am I?"

He started to play with his radar stuff, and got back to me. "We're right near Degala. Enemy territory." He said the last part with fear.

"Fuck." I mumbled, but he heard it. "Uh...if I don't come back, tell Margaret not to tell Hawkeye. I'll see ya...Mitch."

"It was a pleasure working for you, boss. I'll be seein' ya." I turned off the walkie talkie, and grabbed the tracking device from one of my pants pockets. I stared at it in my one hand, while the other was guiding me to the ground. Reluctantly, I turned it off.

Jolly Rancher tensed with sadness when he saw my green blip stop blinking. Still hovering in the air, he pulled off his hat and started to recite a prayer. "Yit'gadal v'yit'kadash sh'mei raba..." The prayer he was reciting, was the Kaddish; the Jewish prayer for the dead.

I dropped myself as quickly as possible and discarded the parachute to keep my presence as low key as possible. I had landed next to a road that probably led to either my certain doom, or my untimely demise. Neither left nor right seemed promising. But I had to choose one. What would Jolly Rancher do? I sighed, and went right. I started walking, not exactly sure whether or not I would ever see an enemy camp or not. I didn't have to go far before a Jeep passed me. The Jeep stopped and reversed back to me.

The man in the driver's seat started to talk to me in Arabic. I had no clue what he was saying so, I said, "Doctor." I pronounced it slowly while I signed hospital on my arm.

The man nodded. "Doc-tor?" He repeated. I nodded and he motioned me over and into the Jeep. We didn't speak during the ride. The only thing he made me do was put on a bandanna to cover my eyes. It was probably an hour before we came to a stop. I was too scared to move until the man had grabbed my arm and helped me out of the Jeep. He had led me into a building where I heard a bunch of different people talking and bustling about. Finally, he ripped the bandanna off and I could see that I was in surgery. It was a lot dirtier than ours, but they had all of the necessary fluids by the looks of it. He took me to a table with a patient on it and pointed to the woman on the table. He wanted me to help.

"Okay. I'll help." I nodded, grabbed a scalpel from a small table that held other instruments, and began my work.

~.~.~.~.~.~

After the four hour session was over, the man covered my eyes again, and took me into another building. When he pulled it off, I was now in an empty room that had a blanket, flat pillow, and a bowl of what looked like watery rice.

"Eat. Sleep. Get strength." He said in a very heavy accent. I nodded, and he closed the door behind him. I put the pillow behind my back, and sat against the wall. It was a cold temperature in the room, so I took the blanket and draped it over my shoulders. To keep myself occupied, I pulled my ipod out of my pocket, and put my ear buds in. I grabbed the bowl of rice, and pulled my knees up to my chest. Maybe being a POW wasn't going to be too bad.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Oh my God, she's going to kill me, Jolly Rancher thought as he approached the room in Istanbul where the Colonel was staying. As soon as he had finished the prayer, he had changed his heading to the hotel. He pulled off his hat again, took a deep breath, and gently knocked on the door. He waited for a minute, listening to the bustle of getting to the door, and finally she opened the door.

"Jolly Rancher? What are you doing here?"

"Uh, Colonel, I got some bad news." Jolly Rancher started to wring his Irish flat hat in his hands.

"Well?" He took a deep breath, and took her into the hallway.

"Uh, well, you know how Cal and I sometimes go on little adventures while you're away." She nodded. "We went on one today, and...she lost sight of the landing spot."

Margaret's eyes went wide. "You did get her, didn't you?"

He shook his head. "She turned off her tracker. She obviously didn't want me landing in enemy territory."

Margaret's shoulders slumped, and she started to tear up, "My baby." she sobbed. She fell down to the floor, and started crying. Jolly Rancher knelt down beside her, and put his arm around her shoulders, trying to be comforting. "My only grandchild."

That threw Jolly Rancher for a loop. Grandchild? Cal and Margaret? That didn't make sense. "Uh, Margaret, what are you talking about?"

She shot a look at him. "You promise, that when she comes back, you won't tell her."

"I won't tell her."

"About a year after the war ended, Hawkeye got married to a wonderful woman, God rest her soul. Right after the wedding, they tried to have a child, and they found out that she was sterile, and could not produce a child. So, Hawkeye called me, asked me to be the surrogate, and I happily obliged. The baby came, and there was no adoption, I just gave him to Hawkeye; Daniel Pierce II was never to know. And he never did. Legally, she is my granddaughter, and she is the only blood family I have left." She started sobbing again, and Jolly Rancher pulled her into a hug.


	12. Chapter 12

Here there were no nurses and no steril tools, but there was plenty of blood. There is always plenty of that to go around. You know what's weird, I've only been here for two or three days, and the other doctors there already consider me one of their own. And their OR isn't as bad as the one back home. It's quiet, and there aren't as many patients to work on. I was at the tail end of another POW, when one of the more experienced doctors started yelling in Arabic. The Colonel said something back, and I piped up.

"What's wrong?"

"He needs more A Positive, and we're out."

"I'm full of that type. Here, let me sew him up real quick and I'll be over in a second." The Colonel responded to the other doctor, and I finished as quick as I could. After they had taken the boy I was working on back to their POW building, I had rolled up my sleeve and went to the table right next to mine. I hooked myself up to the other patient, and let my blood go into the little girl who was from the village about two miles from here. As I was starting to get a little dizzy, the doctor finished up and took out the needle in my arm. Thankfully that round was the last of the patients, so I cleaned my hands in a bucket of water outside the OR, and was escorted back to my room.

The Colonel helped me sit down against the wall, and he put the blanket over my shoulders. "That was a very nice thing you did." His English was definitely getting better.

"Doctors don't discriminate. It's in the oath. We all had to swear by it." He went outside quickly and grabbed the bowl of rice and a bottle of water for me. He placed them in front of me. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He started to leave when I spoke up again.

"Um, could you tell me how that POW I worked on today is doing tomorrow?"

He nodded. "Sure." Then he left me.

~.~.~.~.~.~

"Attention, attention! All personnel! Emergency meeting in the mess tent. Attendance is mandatory. I repeat, attendance is mandatory." Petey had never spoken over the PA with difficulty before. He just couldn't believe it. Boss was gone. He took a deep breath and stood up with shakes. How could Boss be captured? She's...Boss. I just don't get it, he thought as he ambled to the mess tent. When he got there, only a few people were there, and he took his place next to Margaret at the front of the tent.

She saw his depressed face, and asked, "You okay, Petey?"

He nodded, which was a bold face lie. And she knew it. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She took a deep breath before answering. "I'm getting there."

A minute later, Greg ambled in and smiled when he spotted Jolly Rancher. "Hey, Jolly Rancher! What's up?"

"Hi Greg."

He sat down next to him. "Weren't you and Cal supposed to go out today?" Jolly Rancher didn't say anything. Greg took a quick look around. "Where's Cal?" Mitch's eyes went wide. "Where is Cal?" He asked again. It wasn't that hard to figure out when Jolly Rancher failed to answer for a second time. "Oh, God."

After everyone was there, Margaret stood up. "At about noon today, Cal and Jolly Rancher went out to skydive like they always do when I'm not here." A few people chuckled. "Well, after Cal jumped and opened her chute, she lost sight of the landing spot. When Jolly Rancher checked his GPS, he found out that they had made their way into enemy territory. Cal did not want Jolly Rancher to come after her, so she turned off her tracking device." Everyone started talking to each other and gasping. "Now before you start to worry, Peter and I are already working on it. We are calling all enemy bases and MPs in the area to see if they picked her up, and if they did, we are gunning for a prisoner exchange. We will let all of you know as soon as we do. Please just keep her in your prayers." Everyone was asking her questions, but she held her hand up. "Silencio! Now all questions will be held until further notice! End of discussion!" Margaret got stares all around. She had never yelled at the entire camp with that much seriousness before. "If you need me, I'll be in my office." She sighed and walked out of the tent.

Greg was lost. Cal, _his_ Cal, was gone. She's probably being tortured and raped and – No! He wasn't going to think like that. He couldn't. He couldn't even stand to think about Cal like that for a millisecond. Why her? Why couldn't it be anyone else but her? He felt like screaming at the world, screaming at anyone who would look at him twice. I'm going after her, he decided. Right now. He was acting calm as he went from his tent to the motor pool so as not to alarm anybody.

"I need a Jeep, and I need it now." He told Max, who was in charge of the motorized vehicles.

"No can do, Captain. Colonel said I'm not allowed to let anyone out of the camp."

"Come on, Max! It's just one little Jeep, no one will ever miss it."

"Sorry Captain. Orders is orders."

Greg grabbed Max by the collar and brought him to his face. "Now listen punk-"

"Greg put him down." Margaret said calmly. "Put him down, and come with me to my office. Now." Reluctantly, Greg put Max down, and followed Margaret to her office.

As soon as the doors closed behind them, he shouted. "Margaret, you've got to let me go after her!"

"You need to trust me, this is the safest way to deal with this particular problem." She went into her top desk drawer and pulled out a twelve year old bottle of scotch. She also pulled out two glasses and started to fill them.

"I don't care if it's the safest place! She's my best friend I need to be out there looking for her!" He continued to rant and rave whilst Margaret put a glass into his hands.

"Look! I know you care about her, but I need you to stay calm for a while. We will find her. Okay? I promise we will." Without any kind of warning, Greg hugged Margaret tightly.

"How could they take Cal? Why couldn't it be someone else?"

"Hey, as far as we know, she is wondering around out there. And besides, she can talk her way out of anything." And they emitted a sad chuckle.


	13. Chapter 13

"Colonel Malik for you, ma'am." Petey handed her the phone.

She cleared her throat. "Colonel Malik?"

"Yes?"

"This is Colonel Houlihan of the M*A*S*H 1404th. I hear that you have a doctor of mine."

"Oh, the short white girl with the smart mouth?" He chuckled.

"Yeah that's her. Any chance we can get her back?"

"Of course."

Margaret was a little surprised. "Really?"

"Yes. She has been a great help to us. The least we could do is to give her back."

"Is there anything I can give you in thanks?"

"No. Just having her help is enough. Although, if we could keep her one more day that would greatly appreciated. See we're getting a large shipment of casualties in tomorrow-"

"Say no more. We've had those days. A little too often for my taste, though."

"I am sorry if I kept her when you needed her."

"I'm not a community bike you know!" Margaret laughed when she heard me scream from the other line.

"No, it's fine. We've had a slow month."

"Really?"

"Yes, the fighting has moved away from us. At least for now."

"I promise that I will send a jeep with her after the mess of casualties is over with."

"Thank you, very much. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"You are very welcome. Goodbye, Colonel."

"Bye." She hung up and immediately hugged Petey. "We've got Cal back."

He hugged her back. "That's great. I can't wait to tell the camp."

"Let me tell Greg first. He'll be so pleased." Margaret was absolutly aglow.

"Ten minutes." Petey bargained with her. She nodded, and went out in search of Greg. She found him in his tent, depressingly strumming on the guitar he asked her to get him on her trip.

"Hey Greggo."

"Go away." He's been like this since he heard. It's sad really.

"Come on Greggo. Cheer up. I got good news." He looked up at her.

"You just saved a bunch of money on your car insurance by switching to Geico?" She smiled at him. That's the old Greg she knows and loves.

"No. We're getting Cal back." His face lit up.

"Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah. She'll be back within a day or two."

"You're joking with me, aren't you?" Talk about being bipolar.

"No. She's really coming back." And he smiled. His Cal was coming back.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Alright, this guy's done." I said as I wiped my hands on my pants. Here they didn't have multiple pairs of rubber gloves, but they did have Germ-X. So today, I wasn't wearing gloves. Disgusting, I know. But it's the best they have. Two medics came and lifted the guy off of my table and took him away. Then two more came in with another POW. They placed him down on my table and he stared at me with wide eyes.

"What are you doing?" He asked in a southern drawl.

I rose my eyebrow. "I'm gonna take care of that hole in your leg. Now just relax-"

"No, I mean what are you doing here?"

"I'm a fellow POW. Cal Pierce." I held out my hand, but he didn't shake it.

"But...you're a girl."

I am slightly offended. "Excuse me?"

"You-You're a girl. Girls aren't supposed to be in the army. They're supposed to be on the home front."

Now I was extremely offended. "If you haven't heard, women have fought and won more rights since the eighteen hundreds." How dare he say that women belong at home? We've been independent for years. He was about to say something, but I put the gauze pad of ether over his mouth and he fell asleep. "About time he shut up." I mumbled to myself. I opened his leg up and began taking shrapnel out. "Bloody hell." I saw that after taking two small pieces out, his gracilis muscle was ripped to shreds. I motioned for the Colonel and he came over to check it out.

"What's wrong?"

"His gracilis muscle is all mess up. I mean, I could fix it, but I would need a few things from my camp in order to do it."

He knitted his eyebrows together and then nodded. "Okay. We'll move him." He said something in Arabic to a couple of medics, and they took the man away from my table. "Come." I nodded and he brought me to the jeep outside with the man being loaded in. When he was loaded in, the Colonel turned and said, "Don't come back."

"I-"

He shushed me and pulled a blue beanie out of his pocket. "I'm going to send a message out that the snipers ignore a medical vehicle with a blue hatted driver. You should have a safe drive until you get to the front lines. Then take the back roads where most of the villages lie. Following that particular road and you should be fine. The villagers should take care of you."

"Why are you being so nice? I'm a captive, remember?"

He smirked. "Like you said, doctors don't discriminate. We may be on your enemy's side, but we're still doctors."

I held out my hand. "I'm honored to have served under you, Colonel Malik."

"It was good to have you here, Captain Pierce." He shook my hand. "Now go. It's a long trip to the other side."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Driving here was very nerve wracking. The roads were bumpy and dusty, and the sun was hot. It really didn't bother me, but I was worried that all of the dust would infect the wound. After a while I stopped the jeep and wrapped the man's wound with another blanket. If I can't save this guys muscle, I swear I'm gonna kill someone. Getting back in, I put my ear buds in and cranked the volume up. Cameo's _Word Up _blasted, and I drove with more confidence. Hours went by, and I hadn't seen another person besides the guy in the back seat. It seemed like an eternity before I reached the road of villages. I took out my ear buds, and made my way slowly down the road. After a minute, a man cautiously stepped out in front of the jeep. Being humane, I stopped and got out to greet him.

"Hello. I'm Cal." I held out my hand.

"Malik called us about you." He pronounced perfectly. Does the entire world speak English now? I just smirked. "Come, quickly." he went into his hut and I followed him. There he gave me a covered plate, most likely with food, and a bottle of water. "Eat. Take the water with you. You must leave quickly, your patient doesn't have much time before he wakes up again." I had uncovered the plate and looked at him when he said that.

"How did you know?" He just smiled.

"Hurry!" he pressed, and I wolfed down the food. "Now go. Take this road, it will lead you to the main MP station in ten minutes. You should know your way from there."

"Thank you."

"Go!" I jogged back to the jeep and started off again.

~.~.~.~.~.~

About ten minutes later, I arrived at the MP station. "Name and purpose."

"Captain AC Pierce, MASH 1404th. Had to pick up a man behind. He needs surgery and fast." He looked like he didn't believe me.

"I didn't see you go out, Captain."

"That's cause you weren't on duty, dumb-dumb. I went out yesterday, but got stuck and had to wait another day. Look if I don't get back to my outfit, this guy is probably going to lose his leg." I stared him down before he let me pass.

"Let her through." the man in the booth lifted the blockade, and I sped through. I took a left, a right, another right, and a left before I got to the correct road that would take me back home. I chuckled to myself. To think of that place as home was a pretty funny thing. And then I saw it: The "Welcome to the 1404th" sign. I sped up a little, and pulled into the compound. No one noticed or expected my return, so I got a couple of stares as I stopped. I took a quick look around to take everything in. I can't believe I missed this place so much.

And then I saw him. My Greggy was coming out of the mess tent, and he had a gloomy look on his face. I stood still until he saw me. His eyes got wide, and his face brightened. I smiled at him and started running towards him. He ran towards me, and we met in the middle. We ended up in spinning hug, and neither of us wanted to let the other go.


	14. Chapter 14

"Hawk? Hawk, calm down." I tried to soothe him from thousands of miles away. "I told you, I'm perfectly fine."

"How can you be fine? You spent an entire month in captivity!" He was hysterical.

"Hawk, Hawk." He was babbling about how I should be sent home. "BEN!" I screamed into the phone to get his attention. He was silent. I had never called him Ben before. "Look, I am fine. I have no broken limbs, I'm clean as a whistle, and I'm as healthy as an ox. They were some of the nicest people I had ever met, Hawk. The Colonel treated me like one of his own men. I was respected, and well taken care of. You don't have to worry."

"I'm your gramps, I'm always going to worry about you." I chuckled.

"Look Hawk, I've got to go. I just wanted to tell you that I'm fine. And I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay. Just please stay safe."

"Always. Love you Hawk."

"I love you, Art. Bye."

"Bye." I hung up and handed the phone back to Petey. "Is Margaret all packed? Her flight leaves in an hour." Margaret had retired from the army. Finally, I know. She was going to surprise Hawkeye, with her coming home and all.

"I don't know, the Colonel's in her office." I went into the next room and found Margaret slowly packing her things.

"Margaret! What are you doing! You have a flight home in an hour! You should be leaving any minute." She just looked at me.

"You don't get it. I've been in the army my entire life, and now I'm leaving. It feels like I'm leaving most of my life for a man. And I've always been the independent woman."

I just smiled. We really were alike. "Margaret, we all get that feeling. How do you think I felt when I left Crabapple Cove for the first time without Hawkeye? I felt so empty. My entire seventeen years had been based on that place when I left. My first week at Niagara University was a wreck. I didn't want to talk to anyone, I didn't want to interact with anything but the food in the cafeteria." I really hoped that my tiny speech was helping her.

"Did it get better?" She asked as she put the picture of her, Greg, and I into the box with her stuff.

"Yeah. The next week I made a friend, and it went uphill from there. You just have to give things a shot Margaret."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Bye Margaret." Greg said as he hugged her and pecked her on the cheek. "It's gonna be awful lonely here without you."

She smiled. "Good bye Greg. Hopefully we'll see each other soon." Then she turned to me. "Bye Art."

"Bye Grandma." I gave her a tight hug and she smiled even bigger at the name.

"Grandma, I could get used to that." All three of us chuckled. "You two are going to take care of camp, right? I won't have to worry?"

"Of course not. We'll be good children."

"Yeah right." Greg said under his breath.

"I heard that Greg." She shot at him and he smirked at her.

"Oh," He suddenly remembered something that he left in his tent. "I'll be right back. Don't. Go. Anywhere." She nodded and he sprinted back down to the camp. She looked at me for an explanation and I just shrugged my shoulders. A minute or so later he ran back up the hill with a box wrapped in brown paper. "Could you give these to Hawkeye for me? I promise I'd send him some."

"Since when do you talk to Hawkeye?" I looked at him in surprise.

"You know that entire month when you weren't here?" I slapped him in the arm for that.

"Sure." Margaret was laughing as she took the package from him. "Be good." She pointed her finger at us.

"Yes mom." We waved at her as she got into the helicopter. She took off, and Greg and I were in charge of the camp. Normally Guy would be in command, but he got transferred to another unit and we still haven't gotten the newest surgeon yet.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I snaked mine around his waist as we started to walk away from the helicopter pad. Were we an item? Not officially. When I got back he had promised never to let me out of his sight again. He's even made me sleep in his tent. Oh how I love that boy. "What shall our first decree be? Officer's Club open all day every day? No casualties until noon?" I chuckled as we strolled into the compound.

"Better, no casualties...ever."

He nodded. "I like it." We laughed as we made a distinct course for the mess tent. We were almost there when we heard a shot bering fired. "Snipers!" Greg exclaimed and we ran into the mess tent along with about ten other people. After two more shots, you could hear the shouting of the POW's in their chicken coop. Father Drake was in the mess tent with us, and you could see that he wanted to go out and help them so badly. He was itching do go out.

"Father." I warned when I saw him getting ready to run for them.

"Cal I have to. Even they are God's children." Then he ran out. I longed to go after him, but Greg held me back. I watched him. Every step he made toward the coop I watched. He had gotten to the door and opened it for them, and he started to come back when he got hit. I let out a small scream and Greg held me closer to him.

"Father!" I cried out to him.

"Cal don't." He warned.

"I have to." I ripped out of his embrace and shot towards Father Drake. There were a few shots following me, but I managed to pick the surprisingly lightweight man up and carry him into the nearest tent, which was Greg's. I placed him on Guy's old bed, and searched for the nearest first aid kit.

"It's under my cot in the bottom of the footlocker." Greg said coming in after me, ducking a bullet on the way. I dragged the locker out and searched for the kit was he started to prep Father Drake. "He got hit in the chest, and he's bleeding out pretty good." Greg told me, only making me look faster. When I found it, I ripped it open and grabbed all of the gauze and handed some of it to Greg to stop the bleeding. Then I took out the tweezers, a pair of scissors, and a needle already threaded. I came back over to them, and picked the biggest hole in the Father's chest to cut the first line.

"Forgive me Father." I mumbled right before I jabbed into his stomach. He groaned in pain and Greg shushed him.

"It's going to be alright, Father. It's going to be alright." He started to calm him down.

After the cut, I jabbed into his chest with the tweezers. I pulled out a huge piece of shrapnel with half of my hand coming out bloody. If he gets an infection, I'm going to kill someone. "One." I put the piece on the floor next to me and went back into his stomach. Father Drake groaned again and Greg continued to soothe him. Four times this happened before all the shrapnel I could get to was out. "How's he doing?" I asked as I took the needle and poked it through his skin to start sewing him back up.

"He's alive." Greg checked his pulse again.

"That's all that matters." I quickly finished sewing him up, and cleaned his stomach. "How're you doing Father? You okay?" I asked him as I went next to Greg.

"It's hurts so much." He mumbled.

"I know, but you'll be fine. Every thing's going to be fine." I took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"How can I thank you both enough?" He took a sharp intake of breath.

"Just stay alive." Both Greg and I said at the same time. We gave a quick look at each other, and blushed as we looked back to the Father. Absentmindedly, my free hand (which was next to one of Greg's hands) gently took his hand, and we laced our fingers together. And so we waited like that for the shooting to be over.


	15. Chapter 15

Greg was doing his rounds while I sat in the office. We take turns: when one of us is on duty in Post Op, the other is doing paperwork. I-Corps was very upset about the shared power:

"This cannot pass! Two people cannot share the power over a M*A*S*H unit! It's against regulation!"

"Just to let you know, I was never one for regulation." I said to the man who was yelling at both Greg and I.

"Neither of us are." Greg said. We were standing in our uniforms in front of the Commander and Chief of the M*A*S*H units.

"I will not stand for any disregard of this law."

"What law?" I stepped forward and Greg did nothing to old me back. "What law states that two people can't run a hospital unit in peace? What law-"

"Captain, if you can't restrain yourself I will have you taken out forcefully." He stared me down, and I stared right back. "Now one of you will have to step down whether you like it or not."

I raised my eyebrow at him, handed my uniform's hat to Greg, crossed my arms over my chest, and locked my hips in a stance that only Dane Cook could describe. Greg knew I was an alpha, and now he knew it too. "Now listen here, pal."

Oh God she called him 'pal', Greg thought as he hid his smirk.

"If you really intend to make one of us step down, you better send that particular one home because we have been here long enough. And then, the 1404th will be down to one surgeon instead of two. Being on the subject of surgeons, where is that one you promised to send us a month ago? Colonel Margaret Houlihan herself requested one, and yet we have seen none. I know it doesn't take this long to get one surgeon. When I was called here two years ago, it only took two days to get me here, and that includes packing and flight time." I wasn't really angry, I just felt like yelling at someone. "Now I want that surgeon as fast as humanly possible. Do I make myself clear?"

He went from man to boy in less than two seconds after I started talking. His face fell and his eyes went wide with fear. Was I really that scary? "Y-y-yes, ma'am." He nodded, and immediately picked up the phone.

I turned to Greg who was smiling. "I think we're done here."

"Yes, I believe we are." He handed me my hat, and we left the office without another word.

~.~.~.~.~.~

"Greg! Greg!" I bounced into the office back at home with a huge smile on my face. He looked up from his paperwork. "He's awake."

His eyes lit up as he shot up from behind the desk and followed me to Post Op where Father Drake was currently. He had finally awoken after a day and a half of being sedated. We ran into Post Op and practically leapt onto the bed with the Father.

"Father!" We said together when he looked at us.

"Greg, Cal." He was breathless.

"Don't scare us like that." Greg gripped the older man's shoulder.

"I'm sorry-"

I grabbed his hand. "Don't be sorry, just don't do it again."

All three of us gave a slight chuckle. "It was my duty to save them."

"We know. How're you feeling?" Greg reached over me and grabbed his chart.

"My stomach still hurts, and I'm very tired."

"That's what happens when you get shot." I said under my breath. Greg nudged me, and I shut up.

That just made Father Drake laugh. "Look at you two, fussing over an old man like me."

"You're not old Father."

"Am too. Fifty-three is considered old."

"It's still not _that_ old. You could be Hawkeye's age."

"Or my grandfather's age."

"And plus, we love you. No matter how old you are."

Greg put the chart back, "You'll be better within a few days. And don't worry, we'll stop in."

"Too right we will." I gave his hand one last squeeze before letting him get back to sleep.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Hey boss," I said as I entered the office several hours later. Greg looked up from the desk with tired eyes. "It's quitting time." He slowly got up and made his way over to me. We linked arms and walked out. "Night Petey."

"Night Cal, Greg." He nodded to us as we left for the night.

Greg made no protest as I led him away from his tent and in the direction of mine. He only grunted when I pulled his arm. "Common Greggy, my tent's more comfortable anyway." After that he couldn't care less. We entered my tent, and found Archer already asleep on the floor. Lazy pup. I sat him down on my bed, and he took off his shoes as I did standing up. Like myself, Greg normally slept in his clothes from the day before, so there was no changing, except for taking off his belt and mine. We laid down, and he wrapped his arms around me as we fell asleep. I loved waking up in his arms.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

There was a knock on the door. "I'm coming!" Hawkeye shouted as he made his way to the door. Another knock, "Hold on, hold on." He opened the door and his face brightened. "Margaret!"

"Hawkeye." They hugged tightly.

When they pulled away from each other, Hawkeye had a look of question on his face. "Um, confused?"

"I retired. I just couldn't stay away from you." That boosted his ego.

"Come in, come in. I'll get your bags." Hawkeye ushered her in as he went out to the taxi and grabbed her bags. He paid the taxi driver and brought her bags in. When he finished, he went inside and found Margaret sitting in the kitchen with a circular tin.

Without saying a word, he sat down across from her and stared at her. She looked up from the tin to him, and pushed it towards him. "Greg sent a care package." Hawkeye smiled as he took the tin. He opened it and took a cookie out and then passed it to Margaret. She also took one, and after she took a bite, she smiled.

"These taste so familiar."

Hawkeye smiled at the comment and nodded. "His _grandmother_ makes him _rum_ cookies every month."

Margaret took another bite, and then it hit her and her eyes went wide. "No way." Hawkeye nodded. "There is no way that these are Peg's cookies."

"Yes they are."

"Oh, Greg and Cal." Margaret started laughing which made Hawkeye laugh. "It's just too weird of a coincidence."

"Yeah, it is weird."

"How long have you known?"

"Since Cal sent me the first batch of cookies."

Margaret stopped laughing, and said in realization, "Oh my God. Cal and Greg."

"Yeah, Cal and Greg. He's a good boy, isn't he?"

She nodded. "Yes, he is. A very good boy."

Hawk was thinking our future over. Like I really had a say in my future anyway. "He'd take care of her?"

"Oh yes. Definitely."

He nodded. "He better."

"He will."


	16. Chapter 16

"_Grampa!" I ran up to the much older man and gave him a huge hug._

"_Hey kiddo, you been behaving yourself?" He looked at me with those blue eyes that warmed you no matter what their emotions were._

"_Uh huh! And me and Hawkeye brought you a present!" The older man let me go and I ran to Hawkeye who was in the doorway of the room, grabbed the present from his hands and took it to the other man._

"_Why thank you Art, this is mighty nice of you." The man took the wrapped gift and gave a quick look up to Hawkeye who was smiling at my enthusiasm. He unwrapped the gift and smiled. "Well thank you. How did you know that I loved Zane Grey so much?" I had given him the book _Boulder Dam_, originally printed in 1963._

"_Hawkeye told me." I blushed and he gave me another hug._

_Just then an older woman came out of the kitchen and came over to me. "Hey Cal, do you wanna help me make dinner?"_

"_Sure." Then the woman led me into the kitchen._

_The older man turned to Hawkeye and motioned him over. "How're you doing, son?"_

_Hawkeye strolled over to the man and sat down in the chair next to the man. "Apparently not as well as Art."_

"_Aw, well she's just excited that she's here. I bet she's about the same as you."_

"_Colonel, I just don't know what to do. I want to raise her, but I don't want her to end up like Danny."_

_Sherman Potter patted Hawkeye on his shoulder. "Son, that little girl is one of the best little girls that I've ever met, and I've met a lot of them. She is one of those that you know is going to make it, no matter what. If you give up on raising that wonderful little girl, you are going to lose the thousands upon millions of memories that you're going to have with her. Trust me, keeping her is going to be worth it."_

_Hawkeye shook his head a little. "I just don't want to feel like this again. I wouldn't be able to handle it."_

"_That's why you got me, why you've got BJ and Margaret. We're all here for you, even if we're not actually there." Sherman smirked at the younger man, kind of like his own son really._

"_Thanks, Colonel."_

"_You're welcome." They hugged, and I came back into the room._

"_Dinner's ready!"_

"_Common," Sherman got up from his chair and started to lead Hawkeye into his kitchen/dining room. "Mildred makes a mean lasagna."_

_~.~.~.~.~.~.~_

I woke up the next morning with my face buried in Greg's chest. I always woke up before him. And I was okay with that. I wouldn't mind getting up every morning and making him breakfast. It seems like a perfect life really, just as long as I'd get to be with him.

Just then, he stirred. I looked up and his eyes met mine. We smiled at each other. "Morning."

"Good morning." I started to get up but he wouldn't let me, how sweet.

"Did you sleep well?" He smirked at the fact that he knew I couldn't get up.

"Yes, and yourself?"

"Dandy." He yawned and I just shook my head.

"Is there any chance that I will ever sleep alone ever again?"

He shook his head quickly. "No."

"Thought not." We chuckled, and he started to let me up, when the door opened.

"Ma'am, oh jeez!" Petey had come in, but when he saw Greg and I in bed, he immediately turned around and closed the door behind him. "Sorry bosses."

"Petey, it's fine. Come back in here." Reluctantly he inched his way back in. "See, we're both clothed. Now what's up?"

"Uh, you know that surgeon you wanted?" I nodded, urging him to go on. "Well, uh, I-Corps said no." He flinched but I didn't do anything.

I just took a deep breath, and let it go. "Petey, please get the 5670th on the phone." He nodded, and immediately left so as not to get caught in the fire that would probably erupt from me.

"Cal, you okay?" Greg approached cautiously.

"I'm fine. Until we get another surgeon, we just have to step it up a little bit that's all. No big deal." I straightened my uniform, and started to walk towards the main building where Petey reigns supreme.

"Nothing yet ma'am." Petey said to me as Greg and I entered.

"Keep trying."

"What are you going to do Cal? What could Colonel Stupid-head possibly know about the army?" Greg did have a point. Colonel Gowin had no idea what he was doing half the time. But he did love gambling. One of his many flaws.

"I am going to gamble with the old man." Before Greg could even respond to that, Petey handed me the phone.

"Colonel Gowin for you ma'am."

"Colonel Gowin? Cal Pierce." I said.

"Cal Pierce? You mean Margaret's miracle surgeon?" Oh God, he's flattering me.

"Yes, that's me."

"What do you want?

"I wanted to know if you wanted to get into a pool that my colleague set up."

"Who?"

"Greg Stacey."

"Oh! I know Stacey. What kind of pool?"

I had not thought this through. "Well, just a little thing between M*A*S*H units, seeing whose chief surgeon is better in a fight. I understand if you don't want to be a part of such a barbaric thing as this-"

"Hol-hold on there. Just give me one second here." He put the phone down, and walked away for a minute.

I turned to Greg and asked, "Did you ever fight in school?"

He shook his head, "No."

"Have you ever been in a fight? Ever?" I really didn't want to fight again.

"I try not to." Great.

"Okay. Colonel?"

"Yes, who would my boy be fighting against?"

"Me."

"You?"

"Yes, me. Is there a problem?"

"Well, it's just that you're a girl-"

"What is every one's problem with me being a girl!" I shouted into the phone. "I mean this is getting ridiculous."

"Sorry, sorry, just a little concerned."

"Look Gowin, you've wanted to see me beat down ever since the day I met you. Now that you have your chance, you question it?"

"You know what, I can't wait to see you and Major Edwards go at it. When is it?"

"Two days from now, Wednesday."

"Wednesday it is."

"Good. We'll see you here."

"Now, what are the stakes?"

"You win, you get all of the money that we match against yours, we win, we get a surgeon. No questions asked."

"You guys desperate or something?"

"It's just me and Greg up here. Are you in or not?"

"Yeah, I'm in. See you Wednesday." He hung up before I could say anything else.

When I turned back to Greg, he was staring at me with his arms crossed over his chest. "What?"

"I don't want you fighting. Especially not with the 5670th's chief surgeon. Dude's dumber than an ox. I don't even think he can read."

It was so sweet how much he cared. "Greggy-"

"No, no talking. You're not fighting. I won't allow it." Oh my God, he was serious.

"But Greg-"

"I said no. End of discussion."

"Greg we need that surgeon."

"Then I'll fight." His sudden response shocked me greatly. "I don't want to see you get hurt." He added after a minute of my silence.

"You think I want to see you get hurt? I would rather die than let you fight whats-his-face."

"Good then we're in the same boat."

I crossed my arms over my chest and looked down at the floor. "Greg please don't do this."

"Do what? Protect you? Cal," He unfolded his arms and placed his hands on my shoulders. "I would rather do all of the surgery in this place by myself than have you get a black eye trying to get a surgeon that we might not get."

I immediately hugged him tightly, and he squeezed me back. We just stood in the middle of Petey's room, hugging each other, for about five minutes before we let the other go. Then I got an idea. "I just got an idea."

Greg immediately shook his head. "No."

"Don't worry, this doesn't involve us actually fighting." He raised an eyebrow, and I smiled at this brilliant idea. "Come here." I brought him close and whispered the plan into his ear.


	17. Chapter 17

I was signing papers in the office when Petey came in. "Ma'am, Colonel Gowin just pulled in."

"Thank you Petey. Would you kindly take him and his surgeon to the VIP tent?"

"Yes, ma'am." And then Petey left. I continued to sign and initial things. What was I signing/initialing anyway? I actually read the title of the next one, 'Annual Shipment of Toothbrushes Requisition Form'. What happened to people providing their own toothbrush? Ah well, maybe they'll send us blue ones. I signed, initialed, signed again, and initialed that signature. Man these things were annoying.

"Captain Pierce!" The Colonel burst into the office.

"Colonel Pooh Pooh Head." I mimicked him whilst still signing papers.

"Pierce, its Wednesday."

"All day." I still hadn't looked at him.

"Pierce! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

I took a deep intake of air, and I finally looked up at him. "What?" I threatened him.

"When is this thing going down?"

"When I am finished with this paperwork. Now please leave."

"One more thing, why does your shirt say 4077th?"

"Army surplus. It's from the Korean War. Now go!" I know I was being a little mean, but I was really tired, and I didn't have time for him. I just got off of a thirty-six hour shift in OR. Greg and I weren't happy. He gave me a stare, and I let my eyes go ice cold. "Get out." Finally, he left.

It took forever, but I had finished the backed up paperwork. After I put everything in the out box, I laid my head down on the desk, and started to snooze.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"_Grampa?" I asked Colonel Potter as he tucked me into the bed in the guest room in which both Hawkeye and I were staying in._

"_Yeah sweets?" He pulled my blanket up to my armpits._

_I didn't respond for a minute or two, "Why did Daddy have to kill himself?" _

_He was at a loss for words. He really hadn't prepared himself for this. "Well, sometimes people get upset. And they can't stand the life they have. They are so depressed, that they don't want to burden their families. So they- uh well, you know, and they hope that they're doing their family a favor. But they're not."_

_I didn't really understand. "Did I do something to upset him?"_

_Immediately, Colonel Potter shook his head. "No. He was sick. There wasn't anything anyone could've done."_

"_How's Hawkeye doing? Is he okay?" I started to get teary eyed._

"_He's getting there."_

"_I tried to be really strong for him. I didn't want him to worry about me, it's not fair to him to have to worry about me when he has to deal with himself too."_

_The Colonel took my hand, "That is a very grown up thing that you're doing. But it's unhealthy to hinder all of your feelings inside."_

"_I don't care about me, I just want Hawkeye to be okay. He knew my dad a lot better than me. It'll be harder for him to get over this than me. I mean, before I even recognized Danny as my dad, I always thought Hawkeye was my dad." The Colonel just sat there, listening. "I didn't even know Danny. Why should I feel sad for a person I didn't even know?"_

_Another thing I didn't know, was that Hawkeye was siting against the wall outside the room, listening to every word I had to say_

_~.~.~.~.~.~.~_

"Cal? Cal, wake up." Greg touched my shoulder and I shot awake. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just dozed off a little. Is everything ready?"

"Everything is set. Common, everyone's waiting." I got up and he put his arm around my shoulders as we went towards the mess tent. When we walked in, we were met with a wave of applause and shouts from our side of the mess. Greg and I were both smiling, that is until Colonel Gowin came up to us with a huge frown across his fat face.

"Peirce! What kind of fighting ring is this?" I have this strange feeling that he's going to eat me.

"See, I never specified what kind of fight this was going to be. You only assumed that it was going to be a fist fight. But I guess you're just going to have to deal with chess." I smiled at him before I sat down on the side of the black pieces. "You're move."

When his surgeon started to sit down, the Colonel grabbed his shoulder, and sat down himself. He moved his pawn to G-4. I countered it with my pawn to B-5. It was about six minutes before I had his queen, and then, things went extremely downhill. I made a very little smile when I took the queen, and before I knew it, there was a gun nozzle in my face.

"The game is over." He threatened me.

My face was hard, "Put it away Colonel. No good is going to come of that. It's just a game." My voice was calm, apparently calm enough to soothe the Colonel's hot temper. "Give me the gun." I held my hand out, and he reluctantly put it in my palm. He had a scared look on his face, like he didn't know what he was doing. "Greg," I continued to look the Colonel in the eye. He was absolutely terrified. "Could you take this to the office please, slowly." Greg came over with his hands up, and took the gun from my hand. Slowly, I got up and moved over to the Colonel. I took his arm and helped him up. "Let's get you back to your tent."

Everyone was silent. People were just staring as Greg and I left the tent with the Colonel.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Are you sure he's going to be okay?" I asked the psychiatrist, Dr. Scott Fowler. Petey had called him after I came back from settling the Colonel back into his tent. Greg, Petey, PJ, the doctor and I were sitting in the mess tent, sipping coffee after Fowler had spent virtually all day with the Colonel. I had wrapped a blanket around my shoulders from the wind that had decided to pick up to about eighty miles per hour.

"He'll be fine. Though I am going to take him back with me, only for a few days. I just want to see if this is going to happen again, and if I should have him sent home or not."

"Attention! Attention! All personel! We've got wounded. Ambulance in the compound!"

"You go to medical school, Scottie?" I asked getting up from my seat.

"A long time ago." He was unsure about operating again.

"Perfect, welcome aboard."


	18. Chapter 18

"Well ladies and gentlemen," Fowler said to Greg, PJ, Marie (who became the new head nurse), and I as we were gathered in the mess tent after a twelve hour surgery session. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed."

"You can stay in my tent Scott." Greg got up with Fowler and escorted him to his tent.

"Yeah," Marie stretched and got up as well. "Bed sounds nice."

"Night." I said after her.

"Night Cal."

I continued to sit with my coffee as PJ got up. "Is there anything I can get you Cal?"

"No, but thanks PJ."

"You're welcome." The he left me alone. But not for very long.

"Boss! Boss!" Petey came running in. "Boss! Naiya from laundry is having a baby."

"I was aware she was pregnant Petey. But thank you for the update."

"No, I mean she's..." He started making some obsene hand motions.

"...Giving birth?" I guessed.

He nodded excessively. "Yeah."

"Well where is she?" I got up and he took me to her.

"She's in here." Naiya was in the communication part of Petey's domain. She was obviously crying in pain.

"Alright, everything is going to be alright." I went and tried to calm her. "Petey, would you please go get Greg for me." Petey ran out as I checked to see how dilated Naiya was. "You're going to be fine Naiya, Greg's an expert at this." Greg has done dozens of deliveries. I had not. Seconds later, Greg came rushing in.

"How far is she?" Greg asked as he prepped himself.

"She's fully dilated." I let him take the reigns as I got behind Naiya. I was going to hold her hand while she was pushing. Lucky me.

He started to order Petey around, getting things that really weren't helpful, but it would keep Petey busy. "Alright now Naiya, when I say push I want you to push, okay?" His nodding was making her nod. "Now, push!"

She pushed. She screamed. My hand was in pain, but all for the greater good, so it was okay. "You're doing great, Naiya. You're doing great." Greg handed me a wet rag that Petey had gotten him, I took it with my not so hurt hand, and started wiping off her face.

"Push!" She pushed again, and I wiped her head again. "Push!" This went on for about half an hour before Greg finally saw something. "I've got a head!" Greg smiled at Naiya, who in turn smiled back. "Give it another push." She pushed yet again. Okay, hand is really hurting here.

"Really, really good Naiya." I said through clenched teeth.

"I've got a pair of shoulders." Greg was all smiles. He must love kids. "Common Naiya, just a little more."

Her head fell onto my shoulder. "No...no."

"Yes, you can do this. Just have to give a little more. Push, okay?" She nodded weakly, and gave another push.

"It's almost over, give one more big push. Can you do that for me Naiya?" Greg looked her in the eye and she nodded again. She gave a final push, and practically collapsed in my arms. The baby was out, and Greg was cutting the cord and cleaning off the baby as I wiped the sweat off of Niaya's face. "It's a boy." He was smiling as he handed the now towel clad baby over to his mother. She was glowing when she held the baby. "Petey, could you get-"

"Two medics and a gurney, sir." Petey showed the two medics in, and they gently lifted Naiya and her new son onto it. "Take her Post Op, thanks fellas." Petey followed them, which left Greg and I in Petey's space. We cleaned up the floor and when we were done, Greg sat on Petey's bed and I casually sat on his lap and gave him a hug.

"You did great."

He smiled. "How's your hand?"

I chuckled and showed him the black and blue marks. "It went numb soon after the shoulders came out." Gently, he grabbed my wrist and placed a soft kiss in the palm of my hand, then one on the back of my hand. I smiled and laid my head on his shoulder. He laid his head on my shoulder, and we just sort of sat there for a minute when I said, "Do you want kids?"

We pulled back from each other and he responded. "We're not even married."

"I know, but when we get back to the states, if we got married would you want kids?"

"Yeah, would you?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know."

"Why don't we discuss this at a later date? How about we bandage your hand up?"

"You know, this place seems to hate my right hand." He chuckled and we went into Post OP where he grabbed some bandages from the nurse's station. Greg quickly wrapped my hand up, and then we went to visit our latest patient.

"Hey Naiya, how are you?"

"Good." She said. It was one of the few English words she knew.

"What are you going to name him?" Greg asked.

She pointed at Greg. "What your...name."

"Mine?" She nodded. "Greggory Thatcher Stacey."

"Greggory Thatcher." She said it with some difficulty.

"You're naming him after me?" She nodded with a smile which made me smile and Greg's face light up like Vegas. Seeing his face, she handed Little Greg over to Big Greg and he was so happy.

He was the happiest I had ever seen, and then I knew my answer. I let him hold the baby for a few minutes before I said, "Common Greg, we should let them sleep."

He looked up at me and I smiled at the picture of him with a baby, it just fit. He was born to be a father. "Oh, right yeah." He handed Little Greg back to Naiya, and we left Post Op. On the way to my tent, I laced my fingers with his and he looked at me with a small smile.

"I do."

He smiled brighter and kissed the top of my head. Soon we arrived at my tent and settled down to sleep. Just before I fell asleep, I heard Greg say, "I love you."

I smiled and said, "I love you too."

He kissed me and held me close for the rest of the night. I was officially his, and no one was going to take me away from him.


	19. Chapter 19

I was smiling. Why? Well, I was sitting in the mess tent during breakfast, and I was knitting. I don't know why, but knitting seems to calm me.

"You are looking happy this morning." Greg observed as he sat down next to me.

"Well, I am happy today. I'm making a stuffed toy dog for Little Greg." I showed him the colored yarn. "It's gonna be blue!" When I knit, I get really really happy for some reason.

He just smiled at me. "So, are you commanding officer today or am I?"

"I think I am."

"Hey, Petey." Petey had just sat across from us. "Who's CO today?"

"You are, sir."

"Oo, Post OP, fun." I said sarcastically.

"Like leading this camp is any funner."

I tensed at his use of the word 'funner'. "Funner is not a word. I don't know why people insist on using words that don't exist."

"It just kind of came out. I'm sorry you feel so strongly about this." Greg was swallowing his laughs and chuckles.

"It just bugs me is all. I'm sorry I got flustered."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

Just then, an Iraqi villager came in and started to frantically search around, "Naiya? Naiya? Has anyone seen Naiya?"

"Sir," Greg and I got up from the table and went over to him. "Naiya is in Post OP."

The man got a horrified look on his face. "She's not hurt, is she? She's pregnant, you know." I was a tad bit surprised that this man spoke perfect English.

"Sir," I smiled at him. "Naiya gave birth yesterday. To a little boy."

The man broke out into the largest smile. "She did?"

"Yes. If you follow us, we'll take you to her." Greg and I took him out of the mess tent and straight to Post OP. "She's over there." He pointed towards the bed where Naiya laid with Little Greg in a cradle that the nurses made out of a drawer on a collapsible table with a warm blanket and a pillow.

With bright eyes, the man went over to Naiya and gently touched her shoulder. She opened her eyes, and smiled even bigger than she did last night.

"Jeff." He gently touched her face and then gave her a kiss. When he pulled back, she picked up the sleeping baby. "This is Greggory Thatcher."

"Hello," The baby opened his eyes and the man smiled even bigger.

"Come on, let's leave them alone." Greg touched my arm and we both left.

We went into Petey's office to go into the CO office, but we stopped when we saw Petey checking in someone. "Hello," I said casually as we went over to the new man. "I'm Cal and this is Greg. We're surgeons here. And you are?"

"The name's Lieutenant John Grey. I'm a surgeon."

"Well thank God. I knew Colonel Pooh pooh head would come through." I smiled at Greg.

"Yes, I did come from the 5670th. And Colonel Gowin also sends an apology for what happened. He didn't mean it."

"I know. He was just upset is all. Greggory, would you please show Mr. Grey to his bed?"

"Of course, please follow me." Greg was about to show him out, when John interrupted.

"Uh, would it be possible to have a tour of the camp before I get to work?"

"Yeah, I'll take you around before my shift in Post OP tonight." We smiled at each other, and Greg took him to his tent. I then turned to Petey. "He's seems like a nice guy, doesn't he?"

"Whatever you say ma'am. Personally though, he kinda creeps me out."

"Why would you say that?" Petey always had a knack for feelings.

"I don't know, I just don't think he's all that friendly." I'd have to take that into account.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"And this is the supply tent. As you know, this is where everything is stored, except the food of course. You will eventually be put on duty here, and I'll have PJ show you where everything goes. Um, I guess that pretty much covers the camp. You've got the night off tonight, so-" I was about to leave when he grabbed my arm.

"You're so beautiful." He mumbled with a hard face.

I tightened my eyes and said slowly, "Let go of me. Now."

"I don't think so." He pulled me close to him and inhaled my scent, which was very weird.

"Let go of me!" I shouted out before he covered my mouth.

"Ah ah ah, no talking." John nuzzled his face against me and started to kiss and lick his was down my neck. I struggled trying to get out of his grasp, but alas, he was much too strong for me. That's what I get for stopping my morning push-ups.

Okay, okay, breathe. Just breathe. Okay, breathing slightly faster now. Please, someone. Help.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Hey Greg," PJ started, coming into the office about five minutes later. "You seen Cal? She hasn't shown up for Post OP."

"As far as I knew she was giving John a tour. They should have been done by now. Why don't you go check the mess tent, I'll go to supply. She's probably just getting a new toothbrush." The two men exited the office and went their separate ways. Greg strolled towards the supply tent, not a care in the world, when he heard a muffled scream. Cal? He sped up his pace and burst into supply. "Cal?" He stopped breathing when he saw John holding me. And my eyes; they were filled with pure terror.

John looked up from my neck, and burnt holes into Greg's head. "Walk away." He whispered to Greg, then he went back to chomping on my neck.

I whimpered again, and Greg lost his temper. He _never_ lost his temper. "Get off of her!" He stepped between us and John just stared at him. "Run to Father Drake, and stay with him." He breathed to me and I ran out as fast as I could. John took a swing at him, but Greg ducked and tackled John to the ground. Immediately, Greg started punching John in the face. John tried to fight back, but being hit in the face several times kind of stunned him. His face was basically mutilated by the time PJ dragged Greg off of John.

PJ was looking between with shocked eyes. "You alright Greg?"

He was breathing heavily, his eyes wild. "Yeah. Where's Father Drake?"

"His tent."

"Tell Petey to get out Court Martial papers." Then Greg left PJ with John.

"Yes sir." PJ said incoherently whilst watching John like a hawk.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Greg ran to Father Drake's tent, and said loudly at the door. "Father?"

"She's in here, Greg." Father Matthew Johnathan Saint Drake said softly and Greg opened the door quietly.

I was sitting on the Father's bed, my legs tight against my stomach, my arms keeping them tight, and I was hiding my face in my knees. When Greg opened the door, I looked up and saw his face. His face was slightly flushed, with so much worry and care in his eyes. That alone set me off to jump from the bed and hug him tightly. He hugged me just as tight and gently stroked my hair.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

I shook my head slightly in his shoulder. "Only a little."

Greg put his mouth to my hair and said, "I promise I will never let him touch you again."

Knowing what was coming, Father Drake, without being noticed, went into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out two matching Celtic cross necklaces.

"Cal, can I ask you something?"

"Sure." I was resting my head now in the crook of his neck.

He bent his head lower and whispered in my ear, "Will you marry me?"


	20. Chapter 20

I pulled back, looked at him and smiled. "I'd love to marry you." Greg smiled and kissed me.

"So sorry to ruin this beautiful moment." Father Drake interjected, causing us to break away from each other. "But, I believe that an engagement is usually symbolized with a ring. And since you don't have one at this moment, well, hopefully these will do." He handed us the necklaces.

"You knew?" Greg questioned as he put his on.

"I heard you practicing this morning." Greg smiled and blushed. I didn't even have to hold my necklace for him to put it on me. After Greg fastened the silver chain, the Father asked, "So, when are you two going to tell the camp?"

I sighed with a smile. "You know this place, Father. People who went home a year ago already know."

He chuckled. "But really, when?"

I looked at Greg, and he gave his opinion. "I don't think we should."

"Really?" He nodded. "Explain."

"Well if we tell them, they're going to want us to get married here."

"Is that a problem?"

"Well, I know I've always wanted my family at my wedding, and I pretty sure that you want Hawkeye and Margaret there as well. Maybe we should just wait until we get back to the states." I pondered that thought for a second.

"You know, you raise a very good point. We'll wait."

"Well, I know I don't have to worry about you two." We smiled at the Father as he just stared and shook his head at us.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Hey Cal," Greg said later that night as we lounged in my tent.

"Yes Greggy," We were laying in my bed, well, more sitting than laying.

"Wanna come to the movies with me tonight?"

"Not especially."

"Aw come on. What, now that we're engaged you can't go on a date with me?" He pretended to do that crying thing.

I hated it when he did the crying thing. "Okay, fine. I'll go."

"Yes!" He threw himself off of the bed, and dragged me along with him.

"I swear that if it's _The Cat From Outer Space_ again, I'm walking out."

"Trust me, you're going to like it." He said as we entered the mess tent. There wasn't anyone there. "Hey, these look like good seats." He led me to the only bench in front of the projector.

I smirked. "You set me up."

He gasped. "What would give you that idea?" He smiled and sat me down.

Just then, Petey came in with a tray of food. "Can I interest anyone in a snack?"

I giggled at the fact that Petey was dressed in his suit and acting like a waiter. "No thank you Petey."

"Very well, if you need me just call." He bowed his head slightly and made his way behind the projector.

I turned to Greg. "What did you do to him?"

"I made him twenty bucks richer."

"Ah." I said as Petey turned on the projector and sat behind us. Greg then handed me a packet and I just laughed at the title. "You got _Rocky Horror Picture Show_."

"Yep, and all the fun parts are in here." He said, meaning the audience partici – say it – pation.

"Petey," I patted the seat next to me and he came and sat down. "You are about to lose your innocence."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Petey gaped and I covered his eyes when Little Nell was singing her bit during the Floor Show. I hadn't realized it, but her nipples came out loud and proud over the top of her corset.

"Oh, common," Petey whined when an MP came in.

"Can I help you?" Greg asked, getting up from the bench.

"Yes sir, I'm from Battalion Aid."

"We got wounded?" I questioned.

"No, we just came to ask for some help."

"Help?" They had never needed help before.

"Yes, we would be forever in your debt if you could spare us a surgeon and a nurse for... a week at most."

Greg looked at me, and I nodded. "I'm sure we can accommodate you."

"That's great. Look, I've got to leave asap. So, if you could choose a surgeon and nurse now that would be fantastic."

I nodded again. "I'll go talk to the nurses." I got up and jogged to the Nurse's tent. "Hey," I just burst in, and they don't mind. "We need a volunteer to go to Battalion Aid pronto." They all just stared at me, some of them brushing their hair, others in the middle of getting dressed. "Come on! We need a volunteer now!" Still, no one said anything. "Fine. I have a number in my head between one and four. Marie, you start."

She shrugged her shoulder. "Three?"

I turned to Catherine. "One."

Brianna. "Two."

And Sarah. "Four."

I sighed. "I'm sorry Marie. But the number was three."

She took a deep breath and asked. "How long?"

"A week at most."

"Okay." She started packing a bag. "Who's going with me?"

"That's still to be determined. Meet the MP out front as soon as possible." I left the tent and found Greg in his tent packing a bag? "Where do you think you're going?"

"To Battalion Aid."

"Greg-"

"Cal." He turned to me with slightly agitated eyes. "I can't worry about losing you again. I'd die."

"Then I'm going to worry about losing you." I went over to him, and hugged him tightly. "I just can't live without you there with me. That month was the worst month I've ever had since I've met you. And I don't want it to happen again."

He held me tight and kissed my temple. "I will come back to you. I promise. And I will come back unscathed, and you will think yourself a fool for worrying so much."

"I'm always going to worry about you. There's nothing you can do about that. Unless of course, you just don't go anywhere." He started chuckling. "Ever."

"That'll be the day." He pulled back and gave me a proper kiss. "I'm going to be okay. I promise." I gave him a kiss and let him finish packing. "I'll call you when I get there, okay?"

"Okay." I nodded and then let myself out.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

About three hours later, I was sitting in the officer's club alone, save for PJ who was tending to the bar, and Archer who was laying at my feet. Petey had brought me the phone and it was sitting next to me on the bar, just sitting there.

"He should have called by now." I said to PJ who was staring at me like I was a little kid who had lost her new puppy.

"He will."

I started shaking my head. "I don't know that." I then looked down at Archer who had started whimpering.

PJ came out from behind the bar and petted Archer's head. "Don't worry buddy, Greg will be back. He'll be back."

It seemed like PJ was the only one who believed that.


	21. Chapter 21

"Petey!" I said, in the middle of an operation. I was on my tenth guy, and there were still at least twenty to go.

"Yeah, Boss?" Petey was practically running through OR.

"Get Scott Fowler here."

"Uh, what if he's busy?"

I took a deep breath and said, "I want him here yesterday Petey!"

"On it!" Pete ran out without questioning me.

"Cal," Father Drake whispered in my ear. He was assisting me. "Take a deep breath, and calm down a little."

I took another deep breath. "Sorry Father."

"It's okay, just focus."

"I'm focusing." Taking one last deep breath, I went back to work on the patient.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Captain A.C. Pierce," I grinned under my mask when I heard the voice. "What are you doing all alone in this part of the war?"

"Doing what I do best. You joining me or not?" I gave a quick glance up to Scott who was already prepped.

"I'm already dressed for it so might as well."

I all out smiled. "Thanks for coming Scott. I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem Cal. I was actually thinking about transferring." He had a sly tone in his voice as a few medics brought in a patient for him.

"Where ever it is, it better be close. You know how much we love you at the poker game every week."

"Oh, it'll be closer than you think."

"Well where is it?"

"I was hoping to get a spot here as camp therapist. Of course, I'd have to talk to the CO but..."

I was all out beaming as I closed. "Scottie, it would be an honor to have you here."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"So," I sat down next to Scott in the mess after our OR shift was over. "I gotta know, why do you want to transfer here?"

He just shrugged. "I just wanted a little change of pace. "

I shook my head. "You picked the wrong place."

Scott just smiled. "No I didn't."

Seconds later, Petey came in. "Cal, there's a guy in Post OP who wants to see you."

"Why?"

"He said that he's got a message from Captain Stacey." My heart fell.

"Is he okay?" Both Scott and I got up and followed Petey to Post OP.

"He wouldn't tell me. All he said was that he needed to talk to Captain Cal Pierce right away." Petey led us to a bed with a guy who clutched an envelope.

"I'm Captain Cal Pierce."

"Ma'am," He started in the thickest southern accent that I had ever heard. "I was told to give this letter to a," He motioned me closer and whispered in my ear. "Future Mrs. Greg Stacey."

I nodded. "That's me. Is he okay?"

"He's fine." The man handed me the envelope. "And he apologizes for not calling, he was very busy when he got there."

"Thank you very much. You don't know how much this letter means to me."

"You're very welcome ma'am." He gave a thousand watt smile, and I left him.

"Now, if you gentlemen would excuse me, I'd like to read this in private."

"No problem, Mrs. Stacey." Scott taunted in my ear.

"Please don't tell anyone."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Boss." We smiled at each other and I went into the office. I lounged in the wheelie chair, opened the letter and started to read it.

_My Dearest Cal,_

_I am so sorry that I didn't call you earlier but it's really busy here. There's always someone who needs some sort of medical attention. And it's so noisy here. But there are those times when it gets deadly quiet and the bombs stop exploding. It's an unnerving and intense silence, nothing like the ones back home._

_I know it's only been a day, but I've missed you like crazy. I can't wait until I come home and I can hug you and never let go. I'm so sorry that this is so short, but we just got a load of casualties._

_Love, Greg_

_~.~.~.~.~.~.~_

It's been two weeks, and I haven't heard anything on Greg or Marie. I had done everything, short of going there myself, trying to contact them. But everything so far had failed. I had tried to get my mind off of worrying about them by knitting and doing my puzzles, but that too had failed. I wish Hawkeye was here, he would know what to do. Hawkeye. That was it.

"Petey!" I burst out of the office and startled the kid as he played solitare on the floor.

"What? What?"

"Pete, get Crabapple Cove on the line and that's an order."

"Yes ma'am." I never gave direct orders, so when I did, it meant not to question but to do it. I paced in the office for five minutes before Petey said, "Hawkeye Pierce, Boss."

"Hawkeye?"

"Art? What's wrong?" He always knew when something was wrong.

"It's...Greg and Marie." Petey had left the room to give me a little privacy.

"What happened?" He was sitting in the living room with Margaret, watching the latest episode of _House M.D._, and she turned the television down when the phone rang.

"Battalion Aid needed a surgeon and a nurse, Greg and Marie went. The MP said that they would only be there for a week, and it's been two weeks without any word." I waited a second for Hawkeye to respond, but when he didn't I continued. "I've tried everything to get in contact with them, but nothing works." Just then, I let out a tear and took a sharp intake of air. "I don't know what to do Hawkeye."

Hawkeye didn't exactly know what to do either, I had never let myself cry around him. "Honey, I'm going to put you on speaker phone and Margaret is gonna help you out too, okay?"

"Okay." I was practically full out crying now.

"Sweetie?" Margaret asked gently. "What happened?"

"I haven't been able to call Greg and Marie at Battalion Aid for two weeks. And they were only supposed to be there for one. I've been trying to contact them, but every time I've tried it's always failed. And I don't know what to do now." They let me cry.

At least for a while before they began to assist. "What you need to do is to ask around the local villages to see if they've seen Greg or Marie. If you haven't made contact with them in another few days, just give us another call and I'll talk to General Grayson, okay?"

I took a deep breath. "Okay. Oh, God I feel like such a little girl. Calling the parents for help." I started chuckling to myself.

"Hey," Hawkeye put in. "Calling the parents is nothing to be ashamed of. Back in Korea, sometimes I'd call my dad just to hear his voice and stay sane."

After I stopped chuckling, I asked, "What's the date?"

"April 14th. Why?" Margaret asked.

"I haven't looked at a calendar in ages." And then I scoffed. "You know, in two weeks, it'll mark my third year anniversary of being here. Three miserable years. I wanna come home. I miss you guys."

"You sound tired babe, why don't you go take a nap."

I scoffed again. "Naps are for children."

"Well as far as I'm concerned you are my child, Art. And as a father, I'm telling you to go take a nap." I was shocked at Hawkeye's statement.

"Okay Hawkeye, you win." I was easily defeated.

"Goodnight Art."

"Goodnight," Margaret said after Hawkeye.

Unintentionally, I responded as I laid my head on Petey's desk, "Night mom, night dad." And then I crashed.

Margaret hung up the phone and turned to Hawkeye. "I'm worried about her Ben."

"So am I." He grabbed her hands and squeezed them.

"Did you really call your father back in the day?"

He shook his head. "No. I didn't want him to know that I was scared. But he knew anyway."

"Ben," She sounded so weak. "What're we going to do?"

Hawkeye shrugged his shoulders. "We're in the same boat as Art. We just have to wait."


	22. Chapter 22

_I got off the small plane with the pilot. "So, this is Iraq?" I looked around at the mountainous terrain._

"_Not what you expected?" He took out my bags and dropped them at my feet._

_I shrugged my shoulders and picked up my bags. "I've seen worse."_

"_No you haven't." He shook his head. "Trust me."_

_I scoffed. "I trust no one. And I have seen worse."_

_He shook his head in slight disappointment. "Rookies."_

_He started getting back into his plane when I said, "Pilots." I headed down to the camp that you could see from the helicopter pad. When I got there, I walked right through a game of catch between two guys. I went up to one of them and said, "Excuse me." When he didn't acknowledge me, I said it again a little louder. Again when he couldn't be bothered with my presence I dropped my bags and shouted in his ear, "Oi! I was talking to you!"_

_He finally turned to me with an opened mouth. "Alright, I got it." He ran his fingers through his short wavy brown hair and stared at me with his bright blue eyes. "And what can I do for you?"_

"_You can tell me where Margaret Houlihan's office is. Please." He gave me a smile._

"_Yeah, you go straight, take a left, and if you've hit the latrine you've gone too far." I hate smart asses._

"_Look son-"_

"_Son?" He smiled even bigger and crossed his arms over his chest._

"_Yeah, son. Now look, you show me exactly where her office is or I swear to God I'm going to beat you so hard."_

_He looked impressed. "Okay. Follow me." He turned and headed towards her office, I picked up my bags and followed briskly. "So how long you here?"_

"_A month tops." I really didn't feel like making conversation._

"_Bet you fifty bucks your here for a year."_

_I looked at him. "You're on." He smirked and he held the door open for me._

"_Colonel," He announced himself. "You have a visitor."_

_Margaret looked up at the two of us and stood up. She gave one look at me and sighed. "You must be Cal."_

"_You assumed correctly." We stared at each other with cold eyes. It's not that we disliked each other, it's just that I've heard how she was back at the 4077th, and I didn't exactly trust her. "Just wanted to check in with you."_

"_I'm glad you did." The man who was still standing next to me was staring at us with confused eyes._

"_Right, well. I'm so glad that you two have met, but I think I'll show, Cal is it, around camp. And I'll take her stuff to the VIP tent et cetera, et cetera blah blah blah." He grabbed my arm and dragged me out of there. "You crazy or something?"_

"_What?"_

"_You don't just stare down the Colonel like that. First off, it's kind of rude-"_

"_Oh so the won't-acknowledge-my-presence-guy is gonna talk to me about being rude?"_

"_Yeah, and another thing." He started getting huffed. "You need to fix your attitude, otherwise people around here aren't going to like you that much."_

"_Well I could care less about people liking me since I'm not going to be here that long." I hadn't realized we were walking until we had come to the VIP tent. _

"_Keep telling yourself that." He apparently just realized where we were too, and said before he left. "Dinner's at six."_

_~.~.~.~.~.~.~_

_I waited in line for my food like everyone else, and I looked at the food in disgust like everyone else. After I had gotten my daily amount of slop on my tray, I looked around for a place to sit. I hated being the new kid. And then I saw the guy from this morning sitting with another man who looked way too uptight, even for a war._

_Hesitatingly, I went over and asked the man from this morning, "May I sit here?"_

"_Knock yourself out." I sat down across from him and started picking at my food. Even hospital food wasn't as bad as that. A minute of awkward silence came between us before he spoke. "Can we start over?"_

_I looked up from my tray. "Sure."_

"_Uh," He tried to say something, but he didn't know how to say it. Then, "Do you wanna play a game with me?"_

_That caught me slightly off guard. "Uh, what game?"_

"_Just a little golf." He stood up with his tray half empty and I followed him._

"_I was never good at golf." He chuckled slightly as we dumped our food into the trashcan and put our trays in the designated area._

"_Neither am I." After we had stopped back at his tent to pick up his clubs, he took me out of camp to the helicopter pad._

"_So what are we doing here?" He handed me a driver and pointed out to the sign._

"_You see that sign over there? The one that say, 'Caution: Mines'?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_Well," He grabbed a handfull of golf balls from the bag's pocket. "Whoever hits the most mines wins. You first." He teed up for me, and I hesitatingly hit it. I missed. By a lot._

"_Told you I sucked at this." He just smiled._

"_It's alright, we have plenty more."_

_~.~.~.~.~.~.~_

_About an hour later we started getting wounded. That's when the bombs started dropping._

"_Get me some whole blood for him." I said to the nurse who was doing triage with me. We moved over to the next guy and I looked at the holes in his legs. "Get him inside and hook him up with a pint of his flavor." She nodded and helped a medic get the kid inside._

"_So, how's your first night going?" The man who I still didn't know the name of asked from the bus that had pulled in. "Not what you expected?"_

"_You know, I've been asked that a lot today." He just smiled and went back to work as did I._

_About five minutes later we were both in surgery. "Magaret," I said to the Colonel who was assisting me. "What's his name?" I nodded to my first patient, the guy with the bullets in his leg._

"_Michael Caldwell." She read his dog tags._

"_Note to self: remember Michael Caldwell." I mumbled to myself as I started my first surgery in the 1404th._

_~.~.~.~.~.~.~_

_After a thirty hour OR session, I sat in the mess tent with the two other surgeons, Margaret, the Company Clerk, and a medic by the name of PJ._

"_So Cal," Margaret asked as she sipped her coffee. "How was your first OR session?"_

_I shrugged. "Could've been worse."_

"_It probably will be." The man from this morning said next to me. Why don't I know his name yet? We've had plenty of interaction with each other._

_I was about to finally ask this guy his name, when a man in a blue bathrobe, one leg, and a crutch came in. I had to amputate. "Michael?"_

"_Are you Dr. Pierce?" His voice shook._

_I got up and went over to him, "Yes, what are you doing out of bed?"_

"_I'm sorry." He shook his head, pulled his hand out of the robe's pocket and thrust something into my stomach._

_At first, I didn't feel it. I guess my brain didn't want me to feel it. And then I looked down and saw the handle free floating before I fell and let everyone see. The nameless man immediately went to my side while Margaret started ordering the other surgeon and PJ to haul the man back to Post OP. "You're gonna be okay. I Promise." The nameless man said in my ear, and unfortunately I barely heard him. But I still heard him._

"_I was a runner! I was going to the Olympics!" Michael Caldwell shouted as PJ and the surgeon took him away._

_The nameless man cradled me in his lap, quickly took out the knife, and inspected the handle. Standered army issue. Margaret had rushed to grab a first aid kit and came back to find the nameless man trying to stop my bleeding with his jacket. Margaret fumbled with the gauze but eventually handed the whole ordeal to the nameless man._

"_In case I don't make it," My mouth started oozing blood, but only slightly._

"_Which you will." He tried to convince me._

"_But just in case, I've got to know. What is your name?"_

_He slightly smiled as he picked me up and started heading for OR. "I'm Greg Stacey." I wanted to say something, but I ended up coughing blood onto his shirt, and then passing out. "Margaret I want her prepped for surgery. Now."_

_~.~.~.~.~.~.~_

_I don't know how long I was out before I woke up. But when I did, I was met with a bright smile from...from...No! I just learned his name and now I forgot it!_

"_Hey Sleeping Beauty. How're you feeling?" Come on, think. What's his name, what's his name?_

"_I just got stabbed. How do you think I'm feeling."_

"_Probably sore."_

_I grunted as I sat myself up, and then placed a hand on my stomach when I got a twang of pain. "How's Michael Caldwell?" Great, I can remember the name of the guy who stabbed me, but I can't recall the name of the one who saved me._

"_Strapped to his bed." The once again nameless man pulled the chair next to my bed in Post OP slightly closer to me._

"_Is he still mad?"_

_He didn't even have to answer. Of course Michael was still mad. How could Michael not be mad? "Uh, Margaret called your grandfather."_

"_She did what?" I threw the blanket off of me and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I stood up, but then fell back down onto the bed._

"_You need to stay here and rest." He laid me back down._

"_I can't just sit here and do nothing. If she called him, then she broke her word." I went to get up again, but... ...Greg! That was his name. Greg held me down._

"_You can talk to Margaret after you get better." He stood up but I stopped him._

"_Greg," The first time I said his name felt pretty good. He turned back around. "Stay with me?"_

_He sat back down and took my hand. "I won't leave you. I promise._


	23. Chapter 23

"Hey Petey?" I came out of the office about four hours later. But Petey wasn't there. Instead, there was an Iraqi woman, completely covered except for the eyes. "You're not Petey." She started speaking in fast Arabic, but I was completely clueless. "I don't understand Arabic."

She beckoned me follow her, and I did out of curiosity. She took me outside and Petey passed us. "Uh, Cal?"

"Hold down the fort, Petey. I'll be back." I didn't even look towards him as I followed the woman out of camp.

She started speaking again and turned around to face me about twenty minutes outside of camp. I tried to explain to her again that I didn't speak Arabic when she pulled out a wallet sized photo from her sleeve. She handed it to me and then I knew where she was taking me. It was a photograph that had been taken a few months back: Greg and I were sitting in the mess tent, telling each other funny events that we had gone through. Someone had caught us smiling at each other with bright eyes. From that picture, you could tell that we loved each other.

After a minute of me staring at the picture, she tugged on my arm and took me into a building about fifteen feet away. In the main room that we first entered in, there were two small children, both boys, playing with a stethoscope. Even with a quick glance, I knew that it was Greg's: It was bright green. The woman said something to the boys and they stopped playing and looked at me with wide eyes. Oh God, it was bad wasn't it?

One of the boys got up from his spot on the rug, came over to me, and said, "You are Cal Pierce?"

"Yeah. Is Greg okay?" In response, the boy grabbed my hand and led me to a room in the back of the house.

He was lying on a floor mat in the middle of the room. Greg was beaten, bruised, burnt, cut, he just looked terrible. Slowly, I made my way over to him and sat down beside him. I just sat there for a minute, listening to him breathe, telling myself that he's still alive. I looked down at his face, and gently pushed a lock of his hair, which dried blood had stuck, from his face.

His eyes closed tighter, then opened and he smiled. "Cal."

"Hey," I leant down even more and gave him a kiss. "Greg?"

"Hm?" He pulled me back down when I tried to pull away from him.

"What happened?"

He stopped and looked at me with scared eyes. "Please don't. Just let me be happy for a little bit."

I laid my hand on the side of his face, gently so as not to hurt him. "Okay. I missed you so much."

He covered my hand with his. "I missed you too."

"We've got to get you back to camp."

"How're you going to do that? I didn't hear a jeep."

We laced our fingers together. "I'll go back and get one."

He closed his eyes and thought for a quick second. "Stay with me?"

Catching the reference of when I first learned Greg's name, I responded whilst giving his hand a small squeeze. "I won't leave you. I promise."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Petey?" I said into the receiver of the cell phone that I had borrowed from the family.

"Cal where are you! I have an important message for you and Captain Stacey. It's from I-CORPS!"

"Petey calm down. Look I need you to bring a jeep to the town about five minutes south from the camp. There will be two little boys playing outside marking which house."

"Why am I bringing a jeep?"

"Because Greg can't walk at the moment."

A moment of shock and silence. "I'll be right there." And he hung up. I handed the phone back to one of the boys, and they ran outside.

After the boys had left, I turned serious on Greg. "Where's Marie?"

His eyes closed tight and he said with difficulty. "She died."

"Greg, what happened out there?"

He finally decided to tell me. "We were getting bombed. We had finally caught a break and this shell dropped into the middle of Battalion Aid. The place was destroyed. There were body parts, everywhere. I was thrown up against a wall, and part of the ceiling collapsed on my leg. I was stuck, and all I could do, what stare at everything. There was so much blood, so many organs just laying on the ground like spare parts. And then I saw Marie's shoulders, and her neck with nothing attached but her dog tags." He wiped a tear from his cheek.

I started to run my fingers through his hair. "I'm gonna get you home, okay?"

"I'm not ready to go back to work, Cal." He was shaking his head.

"Greg, I meant Mill Valley. I'm sending you back home."

"Cal you can't do this to me. I'm not leaving you alone here."

"I'm not going to be alone, Scott's at camp." I heard the jeep pull up and Petey came in with two medics and a gurney. I got up and let them do their job. "Gentle guys. Very gentle." They picked him up and placed him on the gurney. They then picked that up and put it into the back of the jeep. Petey came over to me. "I'm gonna walk, Petey." There was definitely no room for me in that jeep.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. And when I get home, I want some discharge papers on my desk."

Petey had a confused look on his face. "Who are they for?"

"Greg Stacey."

"But you guys have been together forever."

"I know, just get it done okay?"

He nodded. "Okay."

"We're not telling anyone. Got it?" My tight eyes scared him.

"Got it." Petey left the house and drove the jeep back home.

I went over to the woman and her sons, where the father was, I couldn't say. "Thank you for taking care of him. If there's anything you need, just give us a call." I shook all of their hands, and bid them goodbye. Twenty minutes later I stalked into the office. "Petey did you get those papers for me?"

"Yeah boss, they're on your desk."

"Thank you." I went right past him and sat down at the desk. Without thinking twice about it, I filled out the form with Greg's name and signed it. I took the form out to Petey. "Get these to I-Corps now."

"And speaking of I-Corps," Petey took the form and handed me a letter. "This came for you."

I opened it and quickly skimmed through it. When I saw the purpose, I tore it up. "I hate them."

"What was in the letter?"

"They are denying Scott's transfer." I sighed. "Petey, let's keep this our little secret, okay?"

"Got it boss." Petey was uncomfortable with keeping secrets from everyone, but for some reason he respects me more than anyone. He'd do anything for me.


	24. Chapter 24

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Greg asked as I sat him on the helicopter two days later.

"Yes. I told you that Scott's been transferred here." Both Scott and I were shipping him off. "You don't have to worry."

"I'm always going to worry about you." I smiled at him, and gave him a quick kiss.

"Tell BJ 'Hey' for me."

"I love you Cal."

"I love you too, Greg." I nodded to the pilot and he took off. When the helicopter was almost out of sight, I turned to Scott. "Your jeep should be here in a few minutes."

"I am really, truly sorry about this Cal." Scott shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, Scott. I'll be fine."

"If you ever need anything, you call me okay?"

"I will. Thanks for everything Scottie." I gave him a hug.

"You're welcome." He returned the hug as the jeep came up with his bags. "I'll be seein' ya, alright?"

I nodded and waved the jeep off. I strolled back down to camp and headed into the mess tent. "Hey PJ, anything good to eat?"

He shrugged. "We've got ham and mashed potatoes. With gravy though. It's about the best thing we've had all week."

"I'll take it." I picked up a tray and went down the line. PJ slopped a few slices of ham and a pile of mashed potatoes. "Hold on, just one second." He was about to pour the gravy when I stopped him to quickly sculpt a volcano. He just chuckled. "What?"

He shook his head with a huge smile. "Nothing." He gently poured enough gravy for it to spill over and look like lava.

I sat down at a table with a few medics and took a bite of the potatoes. The mashed potatoes were the only thing in this camp that always tasted good. The one moment of bliss when my taste buds got their mashed potatoes was ruined when, "Attention! Attention! All personnel! Ambulance in the compound!" was shouted over the PA.

No one in the mess tent moved, instead they all looked at me. I saw their eyes and stood up. "All right guys. Let's get to work." We all rushed to the compound for triage.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_Seventeen Hours Later_

"Anything good this morning?" I dragged myself into the mess tent after a very long shift.

PJ shook his head. "Not really." I looked at the slightly discolored powdered eggs, and winced a little.

"I think I'll just stick with orange juice." I passed the serving table and went to the card table next to it and poured myself a glass of pulverized orange juice. I sat down at a table and sipped it gingerly.

"Cal we've got more casualties coming in." Pete came in and sat down across from me.

"Please don't tell me that. I don't want to hear it."

"You have to. We've got five ambulances and four helicopters coming."

"When?" I am getting so tired of this.

"About five minutes."

"Fine." I stood up and made the announcement to everyone in the tent. "Everyone, we've got five ambulances and four copters coming in five minutes. It's gonna be a long day so eat quickly and be out for triage when it comes over the PA system." Everyone groaned. "I know you're tired, but we can't just quit. Because if we do, all of those people that are going to depend on us soon are going to die. Do you really want that to happen? No. Now stop whining and scarf down your breakfast."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_Ten Hours In_

"How many more we got left, Petey?" I called to him as I sent out my latest patient.

"About thirty-five."

"Uh," I wanted to rub my eyes so bad. "Can they wait five minutes?"

"Probably." I ripped off my gloves and was heading towards Petey's office when he handed me the phone. "Doctor Fowler for you, ma'am."

I gave Petey a slight grin under my mask and took the phone. "Hey Scottie." I took the phone with me into the scrub room where I could have just the smallest bit of privacy.

"Hi Cal, and how are you this rainy day?" It may have been raining where he was, but it wasn't here.

"Fine. Everything is normal here." I don't know why, but I started crying. I didn't have any reason, it just happened.

"Are you sure everything is okay?" Damn psychiatrists, they always know what you're thinking.

"No. I need your help. I can't do this by myself. There's too many." I was practically sobbing now.

"I'll be right there. And Cal, relax. Everything is gonna be okay." And I believed him. So much so that I stopped crying.

"Okay."

"Just breathe Cal. Breathe and relax. I'll be there in ten minutes." He hung up, and so did I.

"You can come in now, Petey." Petey sheepishly came through the door and I handed the phone back to him.

"We're going to be okay, right Cal?"

"Yeah, we're gonna be fine Petey. Now come on, we've got work to do."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_San Fransisco – Twenty Four Hours Later_

Greg had his bag slung over a shoulder, his guitar on his back, and a cane helping him walk through the terminal. He was only expecting his grandfather to come meet him, seeing as he agreed to, but he was met with him, his sisters, and his brother. The first one he hugged was his grandfather. "Hey Gramps."

BJ was slightly surprised when he saw Greg with the splint on his arm and the cane but he was just happy to see him again. "Oh, Greggo. I'm so happy you're back."

When Greg let BJ out of his one armed embrace and went towards his eldest sister. "Lena."

"Greg." They hugged and then his other sister hugged him.

"Hey kid." His other sister said in his ear, and he chuckled.

"Hello to you too Julie." And she laughed.

Greg turned to his brother and they just nodded at each other. "Matt."

"Greg." Matt and Greg never really did get along.

BJ chimed in at the awkward silence between the two. "Why don't Lena, Julie, and I take Greg to the car, and Matt, please go collect his bags." The kids didn't even think about questioning him. He gently patted Greg on the shoulder. "Come on, you're mother is waiting for you."

Great, he thought as BJ led him and the girls to the SUV, mom didn't exactly like my choice either.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Erin Hunnicutt sat at her kitchen table glancing out the window every five minutes. Her mother, Peg, was preparing the stuffing for their turkey dinner in celebration of Greg's homecoming.

"Why did he have to go anyway? He should have been a lawyer like Matt." Erin said, looking out the window once again.

Peg just sighed at her foolish daughter. "Sweetheart, you have to respect Greg's choices. He is a grown man after all."

"Just because he's a grown man doesn't mean I have to like it." Erin looked out the window again.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Greg played with his cross around his neck with his right hand as he stared at the trees and buildings passing by on the way home.

BJ and Greg were sitting in the back seats. BJ had noticed Greg playing with his new necklace and leaned over and asked, "Tell me about Cal, I haven't seen her since she was a little girl."

Greg stopped playing with the cross for a second and he replied. "She's five foot one, has a shoe size of nine, short black hair, bright blue eyes, she's so smart, and beautiful. Extremely beautiful, especially when she doesn't try to be." BJ smiled at him. "We're engaged, you know."

"Really?"

Greg nodded. "And now that we're separated, I'm scared I'll never see each other again. I mean, we literally live on opposite sides of the country."

BJ put his hand on the back of Greg's neck. "You love her?"

"More than anything in the world."

"Then you'll see her again. Whether she comes to you or you go to her, it won't matter. But you will see her again."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_Irbil, Iraq_

"Thank you so much Scott." I said to him as he loaded himself back into the jeep be came in.

"You are very welcome." He gave me a quick hug. "I have to go, but do not be afraid to call me again, got it?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright. Bye."

"Bye." He started the jeep and drove off.

I watched him leave the camp, and then strolled into the office. I barely sat down when Petey came bursting in. "CAL!"

His outburst shocked me. "Yes Petey?"

"I-Corps wants to talk to you." He handed me the phone.

"Hello?"

"Captain A.C. Pierce?"

"Yes sir."

"Commander of MASH 1404th?"

"Yes sir."

"We are calling to inform you that the fighting has officially moved north from the location of your hospital."

"So, we're not going to have as many casualties?"

"You're being shut down and everyone there sent home."

I think my heart stopped. "What?"

"You're very lucky, you are one of the first MASH units being sent home."

"Thank you sir."

"You're welcome."

"Goodbye sir."

"Goodbye."

I hung up and sat there stunned for just a moment before I rushed to Petey. "PETEY!"

"Yeah?"

I smiled at him. "We're going home."


	25. Chapter 25

"Everyone got a ride, Petey?" I asked as we sat in the mess tent for the last time. Several MPs were taking apart the camp but Petey stared them down until they left one table bench for us.

"Yup, 'cept you."

"Jolly Rancher is taking me to the airport thanks." I was slightly offended at Petey's remark, but then I remembered it was Petey, so forgive and forget. "What are you going home to?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

"Well, where's the homestead?"

"Haven't picked one yet."

"What do you mean you haven't picked one yet? Where did you live before you came here?"

And Petey said sheepishly, "Baxter High School."

"What?" I asked unbelievingly.

"I used to live in the boys locker room."

"Why?"

"My step dad ran me out after my mom died. But thats okay, I enlisted straight out of school, and I think I did better alone than I ever did with my parents."

I hit my leg with my hand. "Well that settles it."

"What settles what?"

"You my friend are coming back to Maine with me. You are going to go to college, and you are going to be that someone great that I know you are."

"Cal, I'm a Company Clerk. That's what I am, it's what I'm good at."

"Peter Wilson Norris, how could you say that about yourself? You are the smartest kid I've ever met, you think eight steps ahead of everyone. Any college anywhere would be more than glad to accept you, probably with a very nice scholarship."

"Cal, look I appreciate everything you're trying to do for me, but I can't take that offer. You've done so much for me already, you don't need to do anymore."

I sighed, Peter knew better than this. "Petey, did I teach you nothing in the three years we've worked together?"

"You've taught me plenty, Boss."

"Yes, and one thing you've learned is not to argue with me. You are coming back to Maine with me, and that's an order. Got it?"

"Yeah."

"Yes what?"

He sighed and looked me in the eyes. "Yes, ma'am."

"Thank you. Now go get packed, our plane leaves at five." He got up and went towards what was left standing of the office. "You guys can take this now." I stood up and two MPs picked it up and took it out of the tent.

"Ma'am, we're taking down the tent. You need to vacate."

"I'm going." I stepped out the door and watched the roof cave in and the walls fall. I never realized exactly how many memories just died with that tent's collapse.

"You alright Cal?" PJ's voice came out of nowhere.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I turned away from what used to be the mess tent and looked at the rest of the camp. There were only one or two tents still standing. "So what are you doing when you get back?"

"I got accepted into the Culinary Institute of America so I'll be in New York. After that, I think I'll start my restaurant."

"That sounds nice."

"What about you?"

"Back to Maine to beg for my job back." I crossed my arms over my chest. A cold wind had blown in this morning and it hadn't left.

"What about you and Greg? What's going to happen to that?"

"I don't know. I expect we'll see each other again. But if we don't, then I hope he'll live a happy life." It tore me up inside to even think about never seeing Greg again.

"But then you won't be happy."

"If he's happy, then I'm happy. End of story. If you'll excuse me, I have to get another plane ticket." He nodded at me, and I went towards the office.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Thanks for the ride Mitch." Petey, Archer, and I got off of the helicopter.

"You're welcome Cal."

"Look me up when you get home, alright?"

"Got it Boss."

"Be safe, and that's an order."

"Aye aye Captain." We shook hands, and he took off.

"We ready Cal?" Petey asked as I watched the helicopter left.

"Yeah, we're ready." I was ready to say goodbye to Iraq. After three years in this hell hole, you actually start to like it, if only a little bit. Truth be told, I loved this place. I had a steady job here, I met the love of my life here, I got my first dog here. Irbil had been great to me no matter how terrible I thought it was. "Come on Petey, let's go home."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_Twenty-Four Hours Later_

"You sure you'll be okay?" I asked Petey as I stood in front of terminal forty-seven which was going to take me home.

"Don't worry Cal, I'll be fine. Philadelphia is pretty cool. I'll be okay." I still wasn't sure. "Look if I get into trouble, you'll be the first one I call, okay?"

"Okay."

"I'll catch you later."

"See ya Pete." I wasn't going to stop him. I just wanted to get him back to the states safely.

"_Flight Forty-Seven to Auburn, Maine is now boarding. Flight Forty-Seven to Auburn, Maine is now boarding."_

"Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Is that an order?"

"You know it is." Pete smiled and I gave him a hug. After, I took a step back and gave him a salute. He smiled again, straightened up and saluted back. "Dismissed."

"Thank you Captain Pierce."

"You're very welcome Corporal Norris." I turned away from him and went through the metal detector.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Captain Pierce?" A flight attendant came up to my seat before the plane took off.

"Yes?"

"You're not really allowed to have dogs up here."

"He's my service dog."

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm actually epileptic and he notifies me about ten minutes before I have a seizure."

"Oh-"

"He's really kind of important to me."

"Well then, would you mind moving to the back of this particular section? Just in case anyone is allergic."

"Not at all. Come on Archer." She led us to an empty row of seats.

I sat down at the window and Archer laid down in the seat next to me with his head on my lap and I just smiled. "Thank you Campbell Alexander."


	26. Chapter 26

"Taxi!" I shouted as I raised my arm. A black car pulled up and the man driving got out of the vehicle, came over, grabbed my large duffel bag, and put it in the trunk for me. Then he noticed Archer.

"Sorry, no dogs."

"He's my service dog though."

"Really?" He didn't believe me, smart man.

It really was no use anymore. "No. Look dude, I just got back from Iraq, and I really can't walk all the way to Crabapple Cove."

He sighed and thought. "Fine. But if it makes a mess in my car, you're cleaning it up."

"Fine." Like I was really going to clean it up. "And he's not an 'it'. He's a he."

"Whatever. Just get in." We rolled our eyes at each other, Archer and I got in, and the dude sped off towards my home.

About a half hour later, he stopped in front of the sign that read, "Welcome to Crabapple Cove".

"Crabapple Cove." The driver put the car in park. "That's twenty-five thirty."

I pulled out my wallet and handed him a twenty, a finster, and a one. "Keep the change." I said bitterly.

"Thanks for the tip." He spat out in the same way.

"Yeah well it certainly wasn't the hospitality that sparked my interest in giving it." I got out, Archer following me. The driver popped the trunk, and I grabbed my duffel bag. I slammed the trunk and the driver sped off. "Such a nice guy, wasn't he boy?" I smiled when Archer shook his head. "I knew you understood me." He barked. "Let's go home."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

And so we walked. I passed so many of the same old houses, and a few new ones. Of course, it had been three years since I've seen them, so maybe they weren't new anymore. I waved to a few of the kids that I used to babysit on the two mile walk. One or two of the smaller kids that I had helped bring into this world ran after me while I walked by.

"Cal!" Tina called from her porch and she sprinted towards me. She gave me the biggest hug.

"Tina you've gotten so big! How ya been kid?"

"Bored! No one here can play poker." She pouted.

"That's why you've got to teach them kid! And what do you mean no one here can play poker? Who do you think taught me? Mrs. Welsher?"

"Mrs. Welsher died last year."

"Oh, well never mind then. So how's that arm? Hawk wrote to me that you broke it a while back."

"You mean Dr. Ben?" She was smiling.

"Dr. Ben? When did this happen?"

"Last year."

"What else happened last year?" Gosh, I leave for three years, and everything goes straight to hell.

"Grant got a new puppy and Johnny moved away, that's about it."

"Come on, I leave for three years and this town can't behave. Guess I just can't ever leave."

That really brightened her day. "YAY!" And she gave me another hug.

"I'll see ya later kid, alright? I gotta get home."

"Bye, Cal!" She waved, I waved back, and I continued down the street.

"Bye." I called back.

And then I saw it: The light blue two story house with a black metal mailbox, which in a matching light blue paint read, "Pierce". I painted it over ten years ago. It was about time for a new coat.

Archer and I stopped in front of the driveway. "We're home buddy. We're home." He looked up at me. "You ready?" Of course he didn't answer. "Let's go." We walked up the driveway and opened the door.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"_Dear Hawk and Margaret,_

_I just want to inform you guys that our unit was shut down on April 20th. I really wanted to call you, but unfortunately, one of the first things that was packed was the phone so I was out of luck there. Anyway, by the time you get this, I'll be back in the states, probably either on my way home from the airport or maybe even coming up the driveway. See you guys very soon._

_99.99% of my love,_

_Art_" Hawkeye read allowed to Margaret as they were sitting down to breakfast. Margaret stopped eating her toast.

She quickly swallowed before she said, "She's coming home."

Hawk nodded. "Our baby is coming home."

Then they heard the door open. "Hawk? Margaret? You guys home?"

Their eyes went wide. "No way."

"Hello?" They got up from the table and met me at the kitchen door. "Hey guys."

"Art!" The couple engulfed me in a hug which I happily returned.

"Oh it's so great to see you guys. I've missed you."

"We've missed you like crazy." They finally let me go, and then Margaret exclaimed. "What are we doing? You must be terribly tired from you trip. Why don't you go take a nap?"

"I'm not a kid Margaret."

She just smiled slightly and gently touched my face. "You're our kid. Now go take a nap or you're grounded."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Greg?" BJ poked his head into Greg's room a few days after his arrival.

"Yeah Gramps?" Greg was laying on his bed, but he sat up when BJ came in.

"How're you feeling?"

Greg raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Why?"

"I was just wondering if you would be interested in joining me on a little trip to Maine."

Greg sighed. "Gramps-"

"Hawk just called. Cal is home for good. This could be your chance to get back together. Maybe get married." BJ urged.

"We've been apart for like, a week. Give my arm a little more time to heal. I need both to do what I wanted to."

BJ smiled. "What were you planning?"

"I was gonna surprise her at work by finding her and playing her favorite song on my guitar."

"She's not working."

"What?"

"The Chief of Medicine at her hospital gave away her position after she left. She tried to get it back, but Saddler's an ass."

"Then I'll meet her at her house. I've spent too long trying to memorize this song just to forget about it."

"That's the spirit." BJ gently patted Greg's shoulder. "So we'll give the arm maybe another week, week and a half."

He nodded. "Yeah, about that."

"Good. We have a plan."


	27. Chapter 27

"Do you need anything else Mrs. Boone?" I had just spent the day mowing her lawn, pulling weeds from the garden, and planting flowers. Her kids had left her high and dry about a two decades ago. So being the nice person I am, (-hits head very hard-) I decided to help her out.

"No thank you dear. You've done enough." She walked slowly from her kitchen table to the doorway I was standing in. "Here." She handed me two crisp fifties.

"Keep your money. You know you don't have to pay me."

"Sweetheart, I heard about the hospital and all of Crabapple Cove knows that Hawkeye has finally retired, and you need some sort of income until you find a job." Wow bad news travels fast.

"Mrs. Boone, I've been working for you for twenty years. if this isn't a steady job I don't know what is."

She smiled. "Just take the money dear."

I sighed and took them out of her hand. "Fine. But on Thursday I'm tackling the attic for free."

"Whatever you say." She didn't believe me one bit. "Give Hawkeye and Margaret my love."

"Of course. I'll see you on Thursday."

"Bye."

I left and went down the street back home. "Hawk, Margaret, I'm back." I said out loud as I entered the age old house. No one answered. "Hello?" Still no answer. "Fine, whatever, not like I wanted to talk to anyone anyway." I just went back outside and headed for the shed in the back yard.

I didn't make it far when I heard, "Hey Art!"

I smiled so big when I saw him, "BJ!" I ran up to him and gave him a huge hug. "How are you? It's been what, eighteen years?" Before he could answer I turned to the two love birds who were sitting on the porch. "Why didn't you tell me he was coming? I would've cleaned up a little." I showed them my hands and shirt which were coated in dirt.

"Hey, it was a surprise to us as well." Margaret defended.

"Art, while you're up, could you go inside and check on the lasagna?"

"Sure." That will give me time _and_ opportunity to quickly change and wash up. After going back inside, I quickly ran up the stairs in the kitchen to my room, and grabbed a shirt from my dresser. Then I went into the bathroom and scrubbed the dirt of my hands. On the way out, I took a quick look into the oven. Yeah, the lasagna looked fine.

I made my way back out to the porch and stared. Greg smiled at my entrance and started to play on his guitar:

"_You may think that I'm talking foolish_

_You've heard that I'm wild and I'm free_

_You may wonder how I can promise you now_

_This love that I feel for you always will be_

_You're not just time that I'm killing_

_I'm no longer one of those guys_

_As sure as I live, this love that I give_

_Is gonna be yours until the day that I die, oh baby._"

I was so surprised. He was playing my favorite song. Greg came all the way from California to play me _Forever and Ever, Amen_ by Randy Travis.

"_I'm going to love you forever, forever and ever amen_

_As long as old men sit and talk about the weather_

_As long as old women sit and talk about old men_

_If you wonder how long I'll be faithful_

_I'll be happy to tell you again_

_I'm gonna love you forever and everyone_

_Forever and ever, amen._

_They say time takes its toll on a body_

_Makes a young girl's brown hair turn grey_

_But honey I don't care, I ain't in love with your hair_

_And if it all fell out, well I'd love you anyway_

_They say time can play tricks on a memory_

_Make people forget things they knew_

_But it's easy to see, it's happening to me_

_I've already forgotten every woman but you, oh darling_

_I'm gonna love you forever_

_Forever and ever amen_

_As long as old men sit and talk about the weather_

_As long as old women sit and talk about old men_

_If you wonder how long I'll be faithful_

_Just listen to how this song ends_

_I'm gonna love you forever and ever_

_Forever and ever, amen_

_I'm gonna love you forever and ever_

_Forever and ever, forever and ever_

_forever and ever, amen._" He finished the song and slung his guitar onto his back.

I didn't say anything before I ran and hugged him tightly. He of course, hugged me back just as tight. "I've missed you."

He answered me with a kiss. "I just want to say, I meant every word."

"I know." And I kissed him back. "I love you too."

"Forever and ever?"

I nodded and brought my head to his shoulder. "Forever and ever."

~.~.~.~.~.~

_Later That Night_

"Sorry about tonight." I apologized to Greg as we lay in my bed. "Usually they don't do that."

"It's okay. I had fun meeting the entire town." He smiled and started laughing. "That Mrs. Boone is a real character."

"I am so sorry that slapped your ass."

He just laughed harder. "I'm telling you, it's okay."

"So when do I get to meet your family?"

"Soon. Very soon."

"What do you know?"

He got this smirk on his face. "More than you think."

"What did you guys like plan out my life while I was working?"

"Just for a little bit. Like a month. Maybe two."

I laughed. "So when do I meet them?"

"We've got a flight out on Friday."

"Do you think they'll like me?"

"Yeah, well I mean, maybe not mom but-" he saw that my face fell and quickly said, "Just kidding. I was just kidding. Promise."

I gently hit his shoulder. "Don't do that."

"Sorry, couldn't resist." He gave me his smile and I couldn't help but smile back. And out of nowhere, he said, "I love you."

"I love you too." The he pulled me close to him and held me tightly. "What inspired this?"

"What? I hold the woman I love tightly?"

"Not without a reason."

He smirked. "I'm not going to lose you again."

"We we're apart for too long. Only about two weeks."

"It was way too long for my taste."

"Mine too." And I enjoyed being held by him.


	28. Chapter 28

"Are you sure I look okay?" I asked Hawkeye as Margaret, him and I stood outside the door of a white house in Mill Valley, California.

"You look fine, Cal. Stop being so nervous."

"Hawkeye, I'm meeting his _entire_ family. Of course I'm going to be nervous."

"Just take a deep breath. You're going to be fine." Margaret said and she knocked on the door.

I took her advice and smiled when the door opened. "Hey Art."

"Hi BJ." He leaned over and gave me a hug.

He pulled back and took a quick glance at me. "You look beautiful. Come on in." He stepped back and let the three of us in. "Everyone's in the living room." I followed the noise of laughter and walked into the living room.

I didn't even get a chance to look around at the people who were laughing before I heard, "Cal!" Greg got up from a couch and came over to me. "Everyone, this is my fiancé Cal Pierce."

"Hi." I nervously waved.

"Hi." "Hello."

"Um, these are my grandparents, Margaret and," I looked at Hawkeye for a clue as to which name I should give them, but he kind of shrugged. "Ben Pierce."

"Ben?" Greg and BJ asked at the same time.

"Ben." Hawkeye answered simply.

"Ben." I settled their argument with a simple and gentle hand.

"Where's Archer?" Greg asked.

"He's with Mrs. Boone."

"Archer, is he...your son?" A woman who looked to be the only person in the room who could be old enough and/or young enough to be Greg's mom asked.

"No, um...he's my dog."

"Oh, your dog."

"Wow ma, don't be so excited." Greg whispered in my ear and I smiled.

"Cal, why don't you come sit by me." Peg scooted over on the couch and I took an awkward seat next to her. "Hawkeye, Margaret, you can have the love seat across from us." They nodded happily, and took their seats. After everyone was seated, Peg said, "Well, we might as well introduce everyone. Cal, this is my daughter Erin, my grandson Matthew, my granddaughter Lena, and my youngest grandchild Julie."

"Hi." I waved nervously yet again.

Just then, children burst into the room. "Mommy! Billy hit me!" The younger blond child shouted as he ran to Lena.

"Did not!" The older brunette yelled back.

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Alright, alright, that's enough!" Lena held the boys at an arm's length from one another. "Now what did I tell you boys about fighting this weekend?"

They hung their heads in shame and mumbled, "If we fight we're not going camping next week."

"That's right. Now what do you say?"

"Sorry."

"Yeah, sorry."

"Now guys," Lena turned them around to face me. "There's someone you need to meet. This is Cal Pierce," She got down really close to them and whispered, "It's Uncle Greg's girlfriend."

Their faces lit up. And that's when the teasing started. "Greg's got a girlfriend! Greg's got a girlfriend!"

"Alright, that's enough. He looks a little mad." Lena said to the kids who only giggled and ran back downstairs with Greg chasing after them in a fit of laughs. She looked at me and shrugged, "My kids."

"I know some kids like that." I smiled at her.

"Neighbors?"

"A lot of them." I chuckled slightly. "I brought most of them into the world too."

"So you're a doctor as well?"

"Yes. I'm a surgeon."

"And what drove you to that particular profession?"

"Well, everyone in my family was-is a surgeon so naturally I became one."

"You said was." Matt spoke up.

"Matt don't-" BJ was sitting next to him and he whispered it in his ear.

"Excuse me?"

"You said, 'was'."

"Yeah, my...dad wanted to be a Latin teacher."

"Wanted?"

"Just drop it Matt." BJ continued to warn.

"Yeah, he wanted to be one. Now why don't you drop the subject." Oh no, my temper was getting to me again.

"I don't want to drop it. Why are your grandparents here and your parents aren't?"

Like hell I was going to tell him. Not after he'd been so rude like he was. "Fuck you." I got up from the couch and left the house as soon as I could.

"I told you to drop it." BJ hit Matt in the back of the head and went after me.

Margaret started to get up from the love seat but Hawkeye grabbed her hand and sat her back down. "Cal's got this. And if she doesn't, BJ does."

Greg came in just after I left and he felt the awkwardness. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"Matt asked about Cal's father." Julie informed him.

"God Matt, could you be any more fucking retarded!"

"Greg!" Erin said in shock.

"What did I say? All I did was ask about her dad."

Greg had this angry look on his face. "It's not my place to tell you about it." He looked over at Peg. "Where'd she go?"

"Probably outside, BJ went after her." And just like that, Greg was going out the door.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Cal! Cal!" BJ called after me as I stalked away from the house. "Cal will you slow down?"

I turned around sharply and said, "He had no right BJ. No right."

"I know." He whispered, letting me rant.

"How dare he think that he can just ask any old question and I'll answer like an open book! And what was with his attitude? You warned him, I warned him! Why wouldn't he just drop it?"

"He's a lawyer." BJ shrugged.

"It doesn't matter! He should have known better than to press an issue that he was warned against pressing."

"Yes he should have."

"Would you stop agreeing with me?" BJ just laughed.

And his laughing caused me to laugh. "You sound just like Margaret."

"Well I do have a little bit of Houlihan in me."

BJ stopped laughing and stared at me. "Who told you?"

"They didn't have to tell me. Just look at my face. Turn my hair blond and you have Margaret Houlihan. It wasn't _that_ hard to figure out."

"Cal! Cal, are you alright?" Greg ran up to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little miffed is all. I'm much better now though." I started to head back towards the house when Greg grabbed my arm.

"We don't have to go back in if you don't want to." I stared at him, just a tad bit lost.

"Excuse me?"

"If you don't want go back, we don't have to. We can go somewhere else."

"I don't want that kind of power."

"Well I'm giving it to you."

I looked over from Greg to BJ and he was staring at Greg with wide eyes. Did he really just tell her what I he told her? Did he really just offer to leave? Possibly forever?

"Let's go back inside."

"Okay." He nodded and I grabbed his hand and laced my fingers with his.

"Would you really leave for me?" I asked as the three of us headed back inside.

"In a heartbeat." His smile made me smile. This was gonna work. I just knew it.


End file.
